Thomas & The Buffman Bomber
by Chase The Ferroequinologist
Summary: Thomas tries to help find a terrorist who has stolen a powerful mega-weapon that is being aimed at all ships owned by the new transport company, while Salty is forced to confront his past. Who is the mysterious "Buffman Bomber"? Find out in the musical special, "Thomas & The Buffman Bomber"! Leave a review to tell me what you think!
1. Gün Dora

Darkness enveloped the Island of Sodor, but the Wharf was alive with spotlights. Diesel shunters, with "Ministry of Defence" plastered on their sides, shuffled back and forth along the lines, shunting various trucks filled with a wide variety of supplies towards the gigantic ship parked on the end of the Wharf. Colin the Wharfside Crane had never seen anything like it.

"This is _real_ sketchy! I think I'm bugging, man!" He declared to the little beetle-like narrow gauge engine that had pulled alongside him. The little engine chuckled.

"Are you Colin?" He asked. The crane raised an eyebrow above one of his constantly half-closed eyes.

"That's me, little dude. How does a bigshot military guy know about a lonely crane like me?" The little engine grinned.

"I've worked with the engines on your railway before. You might know me as 'Beetle'?" Colin gasped.

"I've heard of you! The engines love talking about you! It's been ages, man!" He grinned. Beetle shared a brief smile with Colin, but his face snapped into stoic focus when a humungous shadow moved into the wharf.

"Calm yourself, civilian-"

"It's Colin, dude."

"Colin, apologies. But we need complete focus from all involved, so be quiet."

"C'mon man, why can't we just ch-Oh." Colin stood slack-jawed at the gigantic shadow gliding into the wharf. Beetle stood with a stoic expression on his face as the scale of the large load, hauled by two shunters at the front, two at the back, taking up two lines. Colin somehow managed to find words through his astonishment.

"W-what is that thing!?" He stammered, bewildered and terrified. Beetle looked up at him.

"Gün Dora." The large load was the biggest cannon Colin had ever seen, mounted on a variety of structures that looked like it could hold at least twenty men. The structures were mounted on a total of twenty-eight wheels, more than Colin had ever seen. Its grey livery seemed to absorb the white light from the lamps illuminating the wharf rather than reflecting it. It made Colin feel rather small.

"Gnarly." He muttered. Beetle looked stoically on.

"She was used by the Nazis in the war. We confiscated her after D-Day, after she had been used to fire over 30,000 tons of artillery and destroy almost as much in Allied weaponry and technology." Colin raised an eyebrow.

"How fast can that thing fire? It's gigantic!" Beetle grimaced.

"She was fired forty-seven times total during the War." Colin gaped.

"And did _that_ much? Epic." He muttered under his breath. Beetle raised an eyebrow.

"It most certainly is not 'epic'! We are transporting one of the most dangerous weapons in the history of the world, and we require complete focus! If Gün Dora ends up in the wrong hands, it could have devastating global consequences!" Colin winced.

"Gotcha, little dude. We're on the same page, don't worry." Beetle was too busy to listen to Colin anymore. He began barking orders to the shunters across the yards.

"Be careful, you lot! She's a ticking time bomb!"

"SIR, YES, SIR!" The shunters called back in unison, and began pushing the gigantic rail cannon onto the ship parked at the end of the wharf. As the military worked, and Colin watched in amazement, no one noticed four shapes slink into the yard. Three of them were black diesels, with stubble on their faces and crazed looks in their eyes, and the fourth, smaller, was covered with a dirty, torn tarpaulin that seemed to cover their shape and scarred face like a hood. One of the diesels sniggered and looked to the hooded engine.

"Just what you says, boss? We'll make them lights go out _real_ nice." The other two diesels cackled gleefully with him, but the hooded engine remained stoic. The first diesel rammed into some oil tankers, derailing them, before braking right nearby them, sparking his brakes and starting a fire. The two other diesels started off, and shunted a truck in front of them towards a power line. The truck realized what was happening and gasped.

"No! Please don't! I'm too young to-GAH!" The two diesels rammed the truck into the power line, severely electrocuting it as well as shutting down all power to the Wharf. The truck's eyes remained open as its singed frames fell on their side. The wharf was covered in darkness almost instantly. At first, confusion solely filled the air, but then…

"FIRE, DUDES!" Colin cried, spotting the burning trail across the yards. The military immediately sprung into action.

"That fire is absolutely priority! We have to stop it from spreading!" A man in a military uniform called. Beetle rolled alongside, before honking.

"You always know how to handle a crisis, Captain Bridges." Captain Bridges frowned.

"Save the compliments for when the fire's out, Beetle." The "bug" grunted, and Bridges hopped on, driving him to the fire to help. Unfortunately, the fire had left Gün Dora unattended, and the sinister four from before slunk towards the front of the harbour, using the darkness as their cover, and coupled up to the rail cannon. Suddenly, she jerked awake.

" _Wo bringst du mich hin? Halt! Ich muss auf dieses Schiff kommen! Ich bin gefährlich! Ich-_ "

"Shut it, fraulein!" One of the sinister diesels cackled, and with a roar from their engines (and mysterious silence from the hooded one), they left the Wharf, dragging their quarry with them. Colin saw them leaving and cried out.

"The mega weapon's moving on it's own! THE WORLD IS ENDING, DUDE!" He shut his eyes tightly. The military panicked as they saw the cannon leaving the Wharf, pushed by two cackling diesels, and pulled by another as well as a hooded shape. Captain Bridges bellowed.

"KEEP FIGHTING THE FIRE! SPEED TEAMS, AFTER THEM!" Several shunters sped away from fighting the fire to try and catch the thieves, but they lost them in the darkness. The cannon disappeared into the night, leaving the military to fight the fire.

* * *

Later, the lights had come back on, and Belle and Flynn were putting the last of the fire out. Colin noticed a distraught Beetle rolling towards him, and tried to be positive.

"Hey, little fella. You dudes did a pretty solid job with that fire." Beetle grimaced stoically.

"It will only be the first of many, Colin. With Gün Dora in the hands of who-knows-who, the world will continue to burn." Colin gulped and stared out into the horizon, no sign of them.

* * *

The fearsome foursome was traveling with their load along an abandoned seaside line. Gün Dora was babbling in German, terrified.

" _Lass mich gehen! Lass mich gehen! Lass mich-_ "

"Shut it!" One of the diesels barked at her. They eventually left her on a siding, and the three diesels scuttled around towards the fourth shape.

"We dids what you says. As fun as that was, we need our payment, mate." They received no answer. The lead diesel growled.

"Ye being cheap? We don't like cheap customers, do we, boys?" The three diesels began advancing on the fourth shape, who remained still and silent. That is, until he sped forwards, ramming all three diesels off the side of the cliff and into the sea, the three screaming until they hit the water. They were sickeningly silent as they fell to the ocean floor. The mysterious hooded engine watched them fall, with no expression, before looking out onto the sea ahead. He finally changed expression; a smirk. He then began to laugh. It got louder and higher, until it turned into a full-blown cackle, which echoed over the sea until it could no longer be heard. Sodor was no longer safe. Not with him around. He would make sure of it.

THOMAS & THE BUFFMAN BOMBER

* * *

Surprised to see this so soon? Well, _Thomas & The Buffman Bomber _will be following a different way of being uploaded than _Rampage of the Rail Bandits_ did. Essentially, every time I finish writing a chapter, the one before it will be uploaded. Like _Rampage of the Rail Bandits_ before it, it will tell an entirely original story with both new and returning characters. Speaking of which, the ones we meet in this chapter:

 **Beetle's return -** After not popping up throughout all of Set 2, my main man Beetle, from Set 1's _Bugged,_ finally makes his return. Beetle will serve an important role in this story, and in future he'll pop up whenever a story calls for him. Beetle will not appearing every set like the rest of characters, but rather, he'll pop up when a story warrants him.

 **Colin's return -** Sure to be more controversial than Beetle's return is Colin's, complete with a new personality. I am not ashamed to admit that is entire personality is based on how baked his model series face looks, and his stoner lingo comes from the same cloth. But don't worry, under all the new is still the same lonely and friendly crane we all knew for one episode! Colin serves an important role in a subplot that will pop up in a few chapters, so wait and see that if you like the new Colin!

 **Gün Dora the Rail Cannon -** Gün Dora is _not_ the villain of the piece. Yes, she does speak English, but German is her natural tongue so she speaks in it when frightened. Dora is a very fascinating character to write simply because of how terrifyingly tragic she is. However, you'll get to see more of her as the story goes on, so keep posted on her.

 **The Buffman Bomber -** My goal with the Buffman Bomber was to take the darkness of last year's antagonist "Slim" Jim Langley and multiply it tenfold. The Buffman Bomber is guaranteed to be the darkest antagonist Thomas had yet, and we haven't even seen him do the most terrifying stuff he does yet! Obviously, there's a lot about him we don't know, but I'm going to keep that hidden until you all find it out.

Next chapter, we'll get to see the story truly begin by meeting a few more newbies, another returnee, and our two main characters, in addition to hearing the special's first of five songs. Come back soon for Chapter 2, _The World is Our Railway!_


	2. The World is Our Railway!

"Since the dawn of time, railways have spanned across the globe, delivering passengers and goods as far as the eye could see. Railways have climbed mountains, forded rivers, and connected the world in ways previously never thought possible. Of course, in the modern day, there is much advancement that seems to expand the world beyond the railway; the car, the aeroplane, the spacecraft. However, there is one company that believes that the railway is perfectly capable of moving forwards with the times. It just needs the right minds to accomplish it!" The lights came up on a tan-skinned man in grey suit with his long messy blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. He grinned and hummed a note before beginning to sing.

" _The railway needs a little push_

 _As the world keeps moving forward_

 _There have been a smart few who've tried_

 _But on results they haven't bordered_

 _But one company knows just the way world goes_

 _For over thirty-five years, they've kept the rails from going grey_

 _I'm Millard Buffman, head of Buffman Global, and the world is our railway!_ " Millard Buffman was then surrounded in a flash of light, and he was now in what seemed to be a stage, with bright lights and a light-blue background. He seemed to do a little jig in time with the music before beginning to sing again.

" _Yes, we're Buffman Global, and we've got an offer for you_

 _You see our real goal is to keep the railways running steady and true_

 _So we'll set up a little base of operations, right on the edge of your isle_

 _We love railways here at Buffman Global, so consider our offer a while!_ " Mr. Buffman pointed at a spot on the background, and a model of a large, expansive container yard appeared, spinning, on the wall. It was rather impressive, with containers stacked far and wide as far as the eye could see. However, Mr. Buffman very quickly moved onto the next part of the process. He smiled widely at the camera, exposing his handsome grin.

"I'm Millard Buffman, head of the Buffman Global Freight Company. Ever since my father handed the company down to me five years ago, we have been revamping our school of thought while still remaining true to our principles of relying on railways to get our goods across the world. If the world changes, the railway changes with it. Here at BG, we know that rails can take us anywhere with the right leadership. We have the unique distinction of being one of the only companies to put our locomotives in leadership positions, because who knows a railway better than an engine? That's why I'd like to introduce you to our newly appointed head of distribution, Deltic!" Mr. Buffman gestured a long a pair of rails that led up to a long diesel, painted baby blue with white and black striping along the side. A white rectangle in the middle of his body proclaimed his name to be "Deltic". Deltic's five-o-clock shadow covered scowl showed that he very clearly did not want to be there. However, he took a deep breath and put on a wide grin before speaking in a clearly exaggerated cheesy voice.

"Thank you, Mr. Buffman. I've been working at Buffman Global for over twenty years, and we have been keeping up with the times while still remaining true to our basis as a railway company." Deltic's grin dropped, and he began to back away, eager to escape the song. Mr. Buffman, however, cleared his throat.

"Exactly, Deltic! Why don't you tell our potential clients about the benefits of using our service?" Deltic muttered something under his breath before looking back at Mr. Buffman.

"Do I have to, sir?" Mr. Buffman nodded. Deltic grunted in response.

"Wonderful." He took a breath and began to sing.

" _We transport goods from place and place_

 _We keep things all in line_

 _When you work with locomotives_

 _It sure won't be a grind._ " Mr. Buffman grinned.

"Exactly!" He joined in with Deltic and the two harmonized.

" _But one company knows just the way world goes_

 _For over thirty-five years, they've kept the rails from going grey._ " Deltic put on his cheesiest grin yet.

"I'm Deltic, head of freight at Buffman Global!"

" _And the World is Our Railway!_ " Deltic's grin dropped again and he began rolling away.

"I need a stiff fill-up…" He muttered. Mr. Buffman looked back at him disapprovingly, but looked back towards his imaginary audience after a few seconds and delivered a dashing grin.

"Thank you, Deltic. And so, whoever may be watching, just know that Buffman Global has your back; by rail, and in your heart. So, when considering what we have proposed to you…" Mr. Buffman was suddenly raised on a series of platforms, gradually getting smaller in height, with women in Buffman uniforms on each one. Mr. Buffman began conducting them as they began to all sing again.

" _Yes, we're Buffman Global, and we've got an offer for you_

 _You see, our real goal is to keep the railways running steady and true_

 _So we'll set up a little base of operations, right on the edge of your isle_

 _We love railways here at Buffman Global, so consider our offer a while!_ " The women began performing grand dance kicks as Mr. Buffman tore off his grey suit to reveal a gold sequined one and a gold top hat.

" _As this world keeps spinning round_

 _As the sun keeps rising higher_

 _Buffman Global's services_

 _The world shall soon require_

 _Cause this company knows just the way the world goes_

 _For over thirty-five years, we've kept the rails from going grey_!" The women's platforms dropped as a spotlight shone down on Mr. Buffman, who grinned before getting down on one knee and doing jazz hands.

"Sodor, meet Buffman Global!"

" _Because the world is our railway!_

 _Ah!_ " Fireworks began going off around the stage as the women and Mr. Buffman harmonized, and the women began doing an elaborate dance routine as Mr. Buffman held a high note until the orchestra beneath them finally cut out.

* * *

The engines stared, bewildered at what they had just seen. The image on the sheet tied onto Duck's tank flickered out as the Fat Controller removed the film from the projector. Thomas was the first to speak up.

"Sir, I have no idea what that was." The other engines murmured in agreement. The Fat Controller sighed and rubbed his temples.

"I know, but Mr. Buffman _insisted_ I show you the video. But, as he said in the film, we have a new partnership on our hands. The North Western Railway and Buffman Global Freight Distribution Company have signed a contract to allow a container yard to be built on the eastern side of the island. This yard will connect us with engines and trains from all across the world, and I will be sending one of you to work for the company so you can assist them with their work." The engines buzzed with excitement.

"Can it be me, sir?"

"Oh please, me, sir!"

"I would be _honoured,_ sir!" The Fat Controller held up his hand, silencing the engines.

"While I appreciate your enthusiasm, everyone, I have already picked the engine who will be working for Buffman Global. This type of heavy goods work is perfect for _Murdoch,_ and I'm sure he will appreciate the change of scenery." Murdoch the Mighty Engine grinned proudly from where he was stopped on the side of the shed. The engines all cheered for him, but Murdoch cringed at the noise.

"Och, much too noisy for my liking." He muttered in his deep Scottish accent. The Fat Controller then turned to the rest of the engines.

"As for you all, I will be periodically assigning you all work up at the Container Yard to help with the construction. Until you're called upon, return to your normal duties." The engines whistled, and all gradually began leaving the sheds. However, the Fat Controller stopped Thomas from leaving.

"Not you, Thomas. I have an important job for you."

"Yes, sir?"

"Some construction supplies for the Container Yard are coming into Brendam Docks, and I need an engine to go and collect them. I'll have Percy take your branch line train." Thomas grinned.

"Yes, sir! I won't let you down, sir!" The Fat Controller smiled.

"That's a good engine. Run along now, and try to get there as soon as possible." Thomas whistled and rolled away towards the Wellsworth Branch Line.

* * *

As Thomas puffed along the main line, he began to think about the idea of the Container Yard.

"All across the world…wow…that certainly is something…" He muttered.

"I'd like to travel like Murdoch…" He said to himself. His driver laughed.

"Don't be silly, Thomas, you've got your branch line, and that's all you need to be really useful!" Thomas chuckled.

"I guess you're right. Still, I wonder what it would be like to get to go _anywhere…_ " He trailed off in thought as he was directed onto the branch line and made his way down to Brendam Docks.

* * *

"Where are those flatbeds? I can't hold this stuff up in the air forever!"

"I'm coming, Cranky! Just sit tight!" Porter shunted flatbeds into place beneath Cranky as quickly as possible, and then went off to shunt more. The Docks were busier than ever, as all Buffman related shipments were coming into their port. Cranky grumbled dreadfully as he lowered more crates onto the flatbeds.

"Why are you lagging behind so much, Porter? Shouldn't Salty be helping you?"

"Haven't seen hide nor hair of him all day, Cranky. Besides, the loads won't wait for him, so I might as well just try to keep things running smoothly." Cranky rolled his eyes, but the two suddenly heard a familiar bubbling from the ocean nearby. Porter groaned.

"She's back, isn't she?" Cranky looked down at the water and saw the unmistakable top of a snorkel rising from the top.

"Yup." Porter sighed and rolled away to the quay, where he could get a better look at the new arrival. As soon as her face was out of the water, Porter gave her a sharp glare.

"Skyler, what have we told you about coming here? It's busy shipping lanes, you could get hurt!" Skyler the Submarine simply scoffed at him. She was very small for a submarine, and was painted bright yellow all over. A pair of swimming goggles was perched on her forehead and snorkel was attached to the area nearby the side of her face.

"Sorry, mate, was just chasing after this little corker of a crab. Twas' a beaut she was, with a pretty shell and everything! I-"

"Skyler, I could not care less. You come here every day, and we tell you the same thing; _Go away._ This is for your own safety!"

"Fair dinkum, but you can't interrupt my research! I've got to know about every creature on the bay floor of Sodor!"

"If you're not careful, you will hit a ship and _become_ a creature on the bay floor of Sodor!" Skyler shared a glance with Cranky.

"Does he always have this many kangaroos lose in the top paddock?"

" _Go_ , Skyler!" Skyler rolled her eyes, before her goggles slid back down onto her eyes, she put her snorkel in her mouth, and disappeared beneath the waves. Porter had a brief moment of relief, before he heard a whistle and gasped.

"Thomas? Oh no, your train's not ready yet!" Thomas was surprised to see Porter rushing away to fetch some trucks of construction materials from the other side of the Docks. Cranky smirked.

"He'll be a while. You might as well sit back and enjoy the scenery. Better than I can do, anyway." He grunted and returned to unloading a ship. Thomas looked around the dockside and suddenly saw a red diesel slink by with some trucks.

"Hey, Salty!" Thomas called. Salty briefly looked startled, before regaining his composure and grinning.

"Ahoy, matey! It's a beautiful day, isn't it? What brings you down to Brendam?" Thomas smiled.

"Yes, it is a nice day. I'm picking up some construction materials!" Salty raised an eyebrow.

"Construction materials? What for, me hearty?" Cranky rolled his eyes.

"Have you been living under a rock?" He muttered.

"They're for the new Container Yard, run by Buffman Global." Salty stopped dead in his tracks in surprise.

"Pardon?"

"Buffman Global." Thomas repeated, confused. Salty paled. His jovial expression was gone and he appeared to be almost catatonic. Cranky raised an eyebrow.

"Salty? Salty?" Salty snapped out of his trance and stammered.

"Oh, s-sorry, what were you saying, Thomas?" He said. Thomas was concerned.

"Are you alright, Salty?" Salty looked away, but cleared his throat and regained his composure.

"I'm fine, Thomas. Completely fine." He began to roll away, but Thomas rolled forwards.

"Do you know about Buffman Global, Salty?" Salty looked at Thomas for a brief moment, before letting out a sigh.

"Well, um, I actually used to work for them, before I came here." Thomas gasped in surprise.

"Why don't you come with me, Salty? I bet some people there will remember you!" Salty looked away.

"I really don't think I'd be welcome there, Thomas." Thomas, however, wasn't listening.

"Salty, I'm sure they miss you and they'd love to see you!"

"I left for a reason, Thomas; I'd really rather not go. Besides, I have work to do." Salty rolled away as quickly as possible, and soon enough Porter returned with Thomas' trucks of materials.

"Here you go, Thomas! Fresh off the boat!"

"I unloaded that ship hours ago, don't pretend, Porter. Now can you get me my flatbeds?" Cranky bellowed down. Porter gritted his teeth and rolled away. Thomas, however, was watching Salty shunt across the yard, and had an idea. His guard's whistle blew, but Thomas wouldn't start.

"Ouch, I feel ill…" He complained to the Dock Manager. The Dock Manager stared at his clipboard. He then called across the yard.

"Salty! Thomas is not feeling well! You need to take his train to the Container Yard!" Salty grimaced from across the yard, but reversed towards Thomas and the train nonetheless.

"Yes, sir." Salty said quietly. He was coupled up to the train, and rolled away with Thomas in tow. Thomas grinned to himself, before he heard Salty's voice.

"You better pull your weight. I know you're faking it." Thomas blushed in embarrassment, but Salty sighed.

"I'll go with you to the yard, but we drop off our trucks and go, got it? No idling around." Thomas smirked; he had won.

"Of course, Salty!" Little did Thomas know, Salty was nervous for different reasons than Thomas thought he was.

* * *

Soon enough, Salty and Thomas arrived at the Container Yard. It was a bustling area, filled with large, metal containers that piled around the yard. Two sets of rails that seemed to be wider than Thomas and Salty's were on the outside of the three lines running into the yard, which off-shot into various sidings. The Pack was hard at work laying down rails and assembling structures, including an office building and a five-row shed. Thomas saw his friend, Jack the Front Loader, moving some sleepers across the yard, and whistled hello.

"Oh, hello, Thomas!" Jack called.

"Hey, Jack! Where do these trucks go?"

"On the construction siding!" Thomas thought to himself for a moment.

"Salty, do you see where the Construction siding is?" No reply.

"Salty?" The diesel grunted; he had been staring off into space.

"What, matey?"

"Do you see the construction siding?"

"Not right now, matey." Salty scanned the area, but he suddenly heard a rumbling in his engine and groaned. His driver stuck his head out of the cab.

"You're running out of fuel, old boy. We'll have to get more."

"There's a fill-up on the other side of the yard, Salty!" Jack called as he moved past with the sleepers. Salty grimaced and sighed.

"Thomas, you try to find the construction siding. I have to go and refuel." Salty uncoupled from Thomas and rolled away to refuel. Thomas looked around the yard, before he heard a rumbling and saw a peculiar grey structure moving along the wider rails. Thomas decided to puff towards it.

"Excuse me?" He called to the huge structure. He saw that it was a crane, but not like one that he had ever seen. Between the grey girders with wheels on the larger line was an orange block with dark blue hazard stripes that almost looked like a boat from below. The only way Thomas could tell it was a crane was a winch on its underside with a large structure carrying containers. The crane did not appear to hear him, so Thomas called out again.

"Excuse me?" He called again. The crane came to a stop and looked down at him.

"Yes?" He asked, in a thick West Country accent.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the construction siding is, would you?" The crane scanned the yard before looking off in the direction of one of the sidings.

"That one." He then rolled away. Thomas was startled.

"Thanks, I guess!" He called. He rolled towards the siding, but was greeted by the face of a grubby truck.

"Oy! What're you doin' 'ere?" The truck asked. Thomas was surprised.

"Isn't this the construction siding?"

"Nope, it's the waste siding! Who told you to come 'ere?" The truck barked. Thomas looked up.

"The crane." The truck raised an eyebrow before looking back at the others.

"You 'ear that, lads? This engine's been listenin' to Curtis' tales!" The other trucks erupted with raucous laughter. It was Thomas' turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Curtis?"

"That container crane! 'E's a ruddy compulsive liar! You can't believe a word that comes out 'is mouth!" The trucks continued laughing before Thomas reversed away from the siding, before rolling up to Curtis.

"You lied to me!" He shouted up at the crane. Curtis winced and looked down at Thomas.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't!"

" _Yes,_ you did!" Curtis cringed again before speaking.

"Okay, I did. But I can't help it!" Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" Curtis looked as if he were about to say something honest, but he stopped himself.

"Nothing. It's not like I have a condition or anything…because I _don't!_ " Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"What a funny crane." He muttered under his breath.

* * *

Salty rolled uneasily over to the fueling station in a quiet part of the yard. He was beginning to relax, as no one had recognized him.

"All I have to do is fuel up and get out of here…" He muttered, and began to take on fuel. His calm didn't lost long before he heard a familiar voice.

"Salty?" The diesel's face paled. On the opposite line in front of him was an engine that would have looked funny had Salty not recognized him. Mounted on top of a small four wheeled bogie was a strange contraption that resembled a cab, painted in the familiar uniform color of Buffman green. The door to get inside on his sides were blocked by blue curtains. He looked rather flat, as was his face, which was scrunched up around his bulbous nose, the one thing protruding from his flat body. After a tense silence, Salty cleared his throat.

"Soggy-"

" _Sogliole._ Only my _friends_ call me 'Soggy'." The shunting tractor corrected coldly. Salty grimaced, but tried to regain his composure.

"So…how long has it been now?"

"Twenty years." Soggy replied, again very coldly. There was another awkward silence; there was something neither of them was acknowledging. Salty saw his driver put the fuel nozzle away and immediately started his engine.

"Well, pleasure to see you, but I'll be going-"

"Oh no, you don't!" Salty braked as Soggy raced back along the line and switched onto the line in front of him.

"You think you can come here after _twenty years_ and we're not going to talk about what you did to him?"

"Soggy, I'm-"

"YOU SENT HIM OUT THERE! YOU SENT MY _BEST FRIEND_ OUT TO DIE!"

"What happened to Junior was awful, but…it wasn't my fault."

"Don't you act like it could have been any of us! It was supposed to be _you,_ and you sent him!"

"How was I supposed to know there would be an oncoming train? None of us were told!"

"He's _scrap_ because of your _laziness!_ "

"It would have happened the same way if you or I had been out there and you know it!"

"Well, then, it _should_ have been you, MURDERER!" Soggy's rage boiled over, and the little shunting tractor bellowed in Salty's face. As the shunting tractor breathed heavily with rage, Salty shut his eyes and began reversing to switch around.

"I shouldn't have come here." Soggy, however, wasn't finished, and raced up to Salty.

"You can run all you want, Salty, but what you did is going to come back some day to bite you." Salty looked Soggy in the eyes for the first time in their entire conversation, filling with rage.

"Junior's death was _not my fault._ " Soggy's gritted teeth softened into a stern scowl.

"Keep telling yourself that." He rolled away, clearing the line for Salty to leave. The diesel did so, rushing to find Thomas.

* * *

Thomas was still talking to Curtis when Salty came over to him.

"So how long have you been working here?" Thomas asked curiously. Curtis smirked.

"Since the beginning of time!" He lied. Thomas simply rolled his eyes.

"It's hard to get a straight answer out of you, isn't it?" Suddenly, Thomas saw Salty, looking considerably frazzled.

"Hi, Salty! How-"

"Thomas, we're leaving." Salty rolled away, leaving Thomas to follow him. The tank engine raised an eyebrow, and began following Salty.

"Goodbye, Curtis! Nice meeting you!" Thomas called. Curtis scoffed.

"Whatever." He rolled away. Thomas chuckled.

"I know you're lying, Curtis!" He called. He heard the crane chuckle back and smiled before he sped away after Salty. He noticed his friend's downtrodden face.

"Salty, are you alri-"

"Not now, Thomas." Salty sped on ahead, leaving Thomas very hurt, and very confused.

* * *

We met a lot of new characters and saw a lot of new elements that are important to the story this chapter!

 **The songs -** Yes, like last year, this special will feature some songs! As opposed to ROTRB's six, T&TBB has five songs; four original and one reprise. This one, "The World is Our Railway" does not get a reprise, but its a fun song nonetheless. It's flashiness shows off the type of person Millard Buffman is. Speaking of which...

 **Millard Buffman and Deltic the Goods Link Diesel Engine -** While we won't see either of them in person for a while, but we have now seen Millard Buffman and one of our main newbies; Deltic. Deltic is based on a British Rail Class 55, specifically it's prototype the British Rail DP1, aka Deltic, and shares his basis' livery. We'll see more of both of them as the story goes on, but they have very important roles to play.

 **Thomas -** Thomas will be serving a much more helpful role than he did in ROTRB last year, and could actually be considered a main character alongside Salty for this one. He's already made friends with Curtis, and will encounter more newbies as the story goes along.

 **Skyler the Submarine -** My personal favorite of the newbies, Skyler was a very fun one to both design and write. Her snorkel and swim goggles are a bit of an experiment to see how much people like accessories on the engines like Penelope the Railway Recorder's glasses (check out _Thomas & Friends: Original Episodes _to see who she is. She is based on the Exomos "Goby", a small submarine with a bright appearance that perfectly suits Skyler's personality. Her thick Australian accent and love of discovery and adventure are going to come in handy throughout this adventure, but you'll see more of her after she pops up again.

 **Porter and Cranky -** First, addressing an elephant in the room: this story takes place between the end of Set 2 of _Thomas & Friends: Original Episodes_ and the beginning of Season 21, so we will not be seeing Carly or sentient Big Mickey in this story. However, Porter and Cranky do have great roles to play alongside Salty to bolster his development, and I hope this story will give Porter a lot more character than he has in the series proper.

 **Salty -** Our story's second main character and the one with the predominant arc, Salty's development is very important towards the theme of the special. What is that theme? Well, we'll have to wait and see. Salty's backstory will be told more in depth at a later point in this story, but for now we know that he and Soggy have unresolved tension over the fate of an engine named Junior, which was allegedly Salty's fault. We'll get to see these events ourselves soon!

 **Curtis the Container Crane -** Curtis was a newbie that wasn't in the trailer! Based on the design of "Heavy" from Jamesfan1991's Thomas sprites, Curtis is unique as he is (in spite of what he says) a compulsive liar. Curtis is admittedly the least necessary to the plot of the newbies, but that doesn't mean he'll have nothing to do throughout the special. In fact, Thomas' friendship with him (a compulsive liar) seems to coincide with Salty getting over his **denial** about Junior...interesting...

 **Soggy the Shunting Tractor -** Lastly, we have Salty's old workmate, Soggy. Based on a Sogliole shunting tractor (weird little machines), Soggy still doesn't forgive Salty for whatever he did to Junior. Bitter, angry, and most of all, in extreme grief, Soggy is a character who we'll get to see go on quite the journey throughout this adventure. I shouldn't say anything more, for fear of spoiling things! 

Come back soon to read Chapter 3, and see the final voyage of "The Trident"!


	3. The Trident

Elsewhere, a train of stone trucks was making its way across the island. Of course, the engine at the front of the train wasn't exactly paying attention to where he was going, as Henry found out as he saw the train coming in the opposite direction…on his line!

"Out of the way, Clive!" Henry shouted, and whistled as loudly as he could. Clive the Tramway Diesel Engine gasped, and was quickly switched onto another line out of the way just in time. Henry scowled as he sped away.

"Mind your track!" Clive, however, was simply relieved.

"Phew." He sighed, and tried to look at the line ahead. However, a bird flew by right in front of him, and he was absolutely entranced by it.

"Ooh…" Clive rolled along the line with his trucks behind him, slowly following the bird. Suddenly, the bird swooped up, leaving Clive very little time to brake before he collided with the brakevan of the oil train in front of him.

"Whoa!" Clive gasped, before banging into the van. As he began to regain his focus after the impact, he heard a voice.

"Is someone back there?" Diesel asked from the front of the train.

"Hi, Diesel! Why are you stopped?" Clive asked. Diesel looked up at the red signal in front of him and was about to answer, but stopped himself and smirked.

"Oh, Clive, it's _terrible!_ I've broken down! I think I'm going to need help going to the Dieselworks!" He groaned in a sick voice. Clive thought for a moment, before smiling.

"I'm on my way to the Dieselworks anyway! Why don't I give you a push?" Diesel's smirk grew wider.

" _Really?_ Oh, thank you, Clive!" Clive smiled.

"No problem!" Diesel's signal dropped to green and the black shunter grinned.

"The big lug's strength sure comes in handy…" He chuckled to himself.

* * *

Diesel, Clive, and their trucks rolled into the Dieselworks after a long and heavy journey for Clive, and a rather easy one for Diesel.

"Thank you, Clive…you wide-eyed idiot!" Diesel cackled to himself as he rolled away from his heavy trucks. Clive groaned.

"You didn't even help!" He sighed. Clive was a very kind and helpful diesel, and some sinister characters took advantage of that. Across the yard, 'Arry and Bert were watching some workmen clean the Dieselworks' chimneys of soot and dump it into their trucks below.

"'Arry, moving these trucks to catch the soot is gettin' _real_ boring." Bert complained. 'Arry was about to retort when he saw Paxton on the other side of the yard, before grinning.

"Who says we 'ave to use the trucks?" He chuckled, before calling out to the green diesel.

"'Ey, Paxton! Come over 'ere!" Paxton perked up at the mention of his name, before beginning to race over.

"Coming!" He called, and raced across the yard, right to under the chimneys.

"Now what can I help you w-WHOA!" Paxton coughed furiously as a cloud of chimney soot surrounded him. 'Arry and Bert cackled as the dust settled, revealing a very sooty Paxton.

"Hey, what was that for?" He groaned. 'Arry and Bert grinned, before Bert spoke.

"We've got to move this soot some'ow, mate! You're so _gullible!_ " The two cackled, leaving Paxton to frown in shame. Diesel joined the twins laughing as he rolled away from Clive. Clive and Paxton both felt incredibly ashamed. Suddenly, a horn sounded out, and across the yard, the five diesels heard some singing.

" _Ha ha ha_

 _Hee hee hee_

 _A very special job for me_

 _I've got to shunt_

 _These Troublesome Trucks_

 _I need to-_ WHOA!" Sidney the Forgetful Diesel Engine, who had been shunting some trucks onto a siding, hit a loose rail, and his trucks derailed into a pile of scrap.

"Ouch." Sidney groaned. Diesel, 'Arry, and Bert cackled, leaving the three diesels looking away from their bullies in shame.

* * *

That evening, Clive, Paxton, and Sidney had gathered outside the sheds at the Dieselworks.

"Why do they treat us like we're stupid?" Clive asked, frustrated. Paxton and Sidney shared a glance before sighing.

"It's because we're gullible…"

"…and forgetful…"

"…and can't pay attention much." Clive finished. The three groaned at their predicament.

"It's not like we _can't_ do anything important, it's just that no one trusts us to…" Paxton lamented.

"Yeah, right, Clive?" Sidney added. However, Clive was staring at something across the yard. Paxton and Sidney shared a glance; Clive's short attention span could cause him to space out during conversation.

"Clive? Clive?" Paxton called, but Clive remained fixated. His eyes narrowed.

"What's that going across the yard over there?" Paxton and Sidney looked, and sure enough, a mysterious dark shape was making its way towards a shadowy part of the Dieselworks. Before either of them could react, Clive began to follow it.

"Clive! Come back!" Paxton hissed, but the larger diesel was already too far away. Paxton groaned and followed after him, with Sidney following along behind. Once Paxton had caught up to Clive, he nervously looked around as the yard grew darker.

"Clive, no one ever comes back here! It's scary!" Clive, however, remained focus on the target of their pursuit, leaving his two companions to haplessly follow along. Finally, the shadowy engine stopped on a siding to rest, and Clive rolled over towards it.

"Excuse me! Are you lost?" Clive called, leaving Paxton and Sidney to panic as they tried to stop him from calling out to an engine they thought was rather threatening. However, a voice rang out that made the three diesels stop in their tracks.

"I happen to be looking for some… _help._ " A deep, raspy voice came from the mysterious engine as he came more into the light, exposing part of his face that made the three diesels wince. Clive broke the fearful silence.

"W-w-what kind of help?" He asked. The hooded figure smirked.

"Help with _important_ work. You three strong diesels should be just what I need." Clive, Paxton, and Sidney all shared looks, before Clive grinned.

"Okay!" Paxton and Sidney looked at him like he had two heads.

* * *

"You're all clear, Cranky!"

"Finally, I've been waiting to unload this thing for hours!" Cranky grunted as he began unloading a massive ship moored at Brendam Docks. Murdoch was waiting below, looking up at the gigantic vessel. He winced as the ship hooted its very loud horn.

"How much longer are ye two going tae take?" He called back as Porter and Salty approached with his long line of trucks.

"We'll be done in a moment, Murdoch! Keep your steam in!" Porter called back, leaving Murdoch to groan, before the sound of Cranky's creaking caused him to cringe once more.

"Sorry, Murdoch! Does that sometimes!" Cranky called. The mighty engine just scowled.

* * *

Thomas had snuck away from the sheds that night, and rolled into Brendam Docks undetected.

"I've got to find out why Salty left if it's bothering him so much…" He muttered. Suddenly, he saw the light of an engine rounding the corner.

"Oh no!" Thomas' driver quickly switched the points and the tank engine hid behind some Troublesome Trucks. They had been sleeping, and Thomas' sudden arrival had woken them up. They saw him and giggled to each other.

"Long way from home, huh, Thomas?" Thomas hastily shushed them as the lights grew closer. Finally, Porter and Salty rounded the bend.

"That's the biggest ship I think we've ever had down here! Certainly while I've worked on the island!" Porter remarked to a rather nonplussed Salty.

"The _Trident_ is one of the biggest cargo ships in the world, and Buffman Global loves flaunting it." He replied. Porter smirked.

"You think the man himself is compensating for something?" Porter chuckled to himself, but Salty didn't laugh. Porter winced, and continued on following his workmate. Thomas remained hidden behind the trucks.

* * *

The mysterious engine led the three diesels along a dark track, surrounded by dense trees.

"So, what's our _important_ work?" Clive asked eagerly. The mysterious figure smirked.

"I need you to help me take a heavy load somewhere _very_ special." He rasped. Sidney grimaced as a looming shadow began to appear above the four. Once the three diesels saw it, they gasped. Paxton gaped in horror.

"W-what is _that?_ " In front of them was a rail cannon, one of the biggest things any of the three diesels had ever seen. The hooded engine braked to a halt.

"One of you come with me to the back, the other two at the front. We have to take this thing to the cliffs that aim into Brendam Bay." Sidney shuddered.

"Why?"

"Don't ask me _why,_ just _do it!_ It's important!" Their companion snapped. He took a deep, hissing breath to calm himself down and rolled around the back. Sidney worriedly followed, while Clive and Paxton backed down onto the front of the heavy rail cannon. Paxton looked up nervously at the barrel of the gigantic cannon, towering above them.

"Clive, this is a really bad idea! We don't know what this engine wants us to do with this…thing! It looks dangerous! I don't want to be involved in something dangerous, so let's _get out of here!_ " However, Paxton got no response, and he looked over to see Clive staring off into space. Paxton grimaced with worry, before suddenly feeling a bump from the rear.

"Get a move on!" The dark engine called from the back. Clive snapped out of his unfocused trance.

"You say something, Paxton?" Paxton groaned, and the heavy load left into the night.

* * *

As it was the night, there were not many engines on the line. This was very fortunate for the diesels' suspicious load, which roused no suspicion as it rumbled onto the branch line. However, as Clive and Paxton saw the junction leading up to the cliffs ahead, they suddenly heard a faint, but terrified breathing. Paxton ignored it, but Clive decided to investigate.

"Is…is someone there?" Suddenly, the breathing stopped, and a small, afraid voice rang in Clive's ears.

"Vhat are you planning to do vith me?" Clive realized that it was the rail cannon speaking. He thought for a moment.

"We're taking you to the cliffs, but after that I don't rightly know." He replied. Paxton's eyes widened once he saw what Clive was doing.

"Clive, why are you talking to it?" He hissed, but Clive wasn't paying attention to him.

"What's your name?" Clive asked their load. There was a quiet gasp before she spoke.

"Dora. My name is Dora." Clive chuckled.

"That's a nice name!"

"Thank you." She replied quietly. Clive thought for a moment before speaking again.

"Any idea why we're taking you to the cliffs?" He asked. Suddenly, the panic returned to Dora's voice.

"Please, no! I don't vant to hurt anyone! I-"

"Whoa, settle down! You won't hurt anyone! I promise that as long as I'm here, you'll be safe." Clive smiled. Paxton chuckled nervously and looked back at the rail cannon, who seemed to have calmed down somewhat.

"Do you really think that?"

"Certainly! I wouldn't say that if I didn't!" Clive chuckled. Finally, they reached the cliffs, and the hooded engine and Sidney raced around the front of the train. The hooded engine growled.

"Wait by the junction. I'll need you to take her away once we're done here." Paxton and Sidney shared looks of uncomfortable suspicion, but Clive simply smiled and began to back away, but not before looking up at Dora.

"Nice to meet you, Dora!" He called. Sidney raised an eyebrow.

"Did he just talk to it?" He whispered to Paxton. However, before Paxton could reply, their hooded employer growled.

"GET OUT!" He shouted, and the two diesel shot off like rockets. Dora looked fearfully down at her considerable smaller aggressor. The hooded engine smirked as he bumped into her and began to rotate her cannon.

"Load 'er up." He chuckled darkly. Dora's fear grew again as the engine's terrified crew began to load Dora with gunpowder.

* * *

Back at the Docks, Thomas had managed to sneak behind a few more trains of trucks until he was right nearby the dock. He noticed Cranky unloading a large crate from the boat and slamming it down into one of Murdoch's trucks. The big engine winced at the loud noise.

"Are ye done now?" He snapped. Cranky scowled right back at him.

"Yes, Murdoch. I'm done. Now leave so you can have your 'quiet time'."

"I gladly would, but I have tae wait for the guard, so just don't make any-" The _Trident_ hooted its loud horn in response to being loaded up. Murdoch groaned.

"-loud noises!" Cranky smirked. Thomas chuckled at this exchange, but saw Salty resting ahead, and decided to slowly try to get close to him. As Thomas did this, the _Trident_ began to pull away from the Docks.

"All clear! Next stop, the Mainland!" The ship's captain called. Thomas, however, wasn't paying attention.

"I need to know!" He muttered under his breath.

* * *

Up on the cliffs, Gün Dora had been aimed for fire, and was fearfully begging the terrifying engine to stop.

"Please! You don't understand! People are in danger!" The hooded engine grinned maniacally.

"I know. FIRE!" He bellowed, and Gün Dora was fired for the first time in years.

"NO!" She cried.

* * *

Before Thomas could reach Salty, however, a loud explosion sounded in the bay. The dockworkers and engines looked out to sea, before their eyes widened in horror. Porter broke the silence.

"THE _TRIDENT!_ SHE'S SINKING! SOMEBODY CALL THE SEARCH & RESCUE CENTER!" He shouted. The Dock Manager frantically dialed the Search and Rescue Center, as flames began to rise from the ship. The men frantically ran onto the Deck.

"SOMEBODY HELP!" They shouted. Murdoch, Cranky, and Porter were horrified, while Thomas had stopped dead in his tracks in fear. No one was more terrified than Salty however, and he remained completely frozen with mouth agape as the ship began to tear itself apart from the inside.

"To the rescue!" Captain the Lifeboat called, as he was launched from his dock in the Search and Rescue Center, and Harold the Helicopter took off from his pad. Harold looked down at Captain as the two raced towards the flaming ship in the bay.

"Alright, chap! We have to get everyone off that ship as soon as possible! She's on fire, and could blow any second!" He called. Captain's face remained stoically serious.

"Yes, Harold. I'll get everyone onto my deck and you watch the flames from above!" He sped away towards the ship and rolled towards the front.

"CLIMB DOWN ONTO MY DECK!" He called, and promptly dropped anchor so the men could climb aboard. The men shuffled down the anchor chain one by one and dropped in Captain's hull, but it was taking a long time and the flames were growing hotter. Harold was having difficulty seeing Captain through all the flames and smoke, but he noticed the middle of the ship beginning to warp.

"Captain! Get out of there, the ship's going to blow itself apart!" He radioed down to Captain, who looked up and saw one man climbing down the anchor.

"Almost got it!" He called, and the man dropped into Captain's now crowded hull. The lifeboat sped away just in time, as a cloud of flames erupted from the middle of the boat, and, as Harold predicted, she exploded. He swooped out of the way to avoid the blast, and Captain managed to just escape the reach of the explosion. Everyone who had been on board was safe, but the _Triden_ t had ripped itself in two, and everyone could only watch in horror as its charred remains sank to the ocean floor. Captain rolled up to the dock in exhaustion, while Harold used his floats to land on the water.

"Everyone's safe!" Captain panted, but the mood remained somber as the ship's former captain saluted his fallen ship as it finally disappeared beneath the waves.

* * *

Clive, Paxton, and Sidney were waiting at the end of the siding when they suddenly saw the hooded engine racing towards them.

"Get the cannon! We've got to hide it somewhere. NOW!" He snapped.

"Why?"

"JUST DO IT!" The mysterious engine bellowed. Clive thought for a moment.

"We could take her to that part of the Dieselworks where we found you! No one ever goes back there!" The mysterious engine grinned.

"Perfect. Now let's go." Clive raced off after him. Paxton grimaced as he and Sidney reluctantly followed.

"This is a really _bad_ idea." He muttered.

* * *

The four engines pulled the stoically silent Dora to the dark part of the yard in the dead of night. Diesel, 'Arry, Bert, Den, and Dart were fast asleep in the sheds, so the quartet could go unnoticed as they moved Dora onto a shadow-covered siding. The hooded engine looked at the three diesels as the finished moving the cannon into the shadows.

"Stay on standby. I'll need you three for…other things." He then rolled far closer to the three diesels.

"If you tell _anyone_ about this, I will personally crush you into scrap." He sped away, leaving a terrified Sidney and Paxton, and an unfocused Clive, behind. The former two frantically sped off to their sheds, but Clive remained behind when he heard faint sniffling. He rolled back and saw that Dora was crying, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" Clive asked, but Dora didn't respond. The tramway diesel smiled.

"I'll keep you company." He shut his eyes and went to sleep, and Dora soon followed after, having cried herself into a turbulent slumber.

* * *

Not as many new characters this chapter, as we're winding in on our major cast. But we did get:

\- **Clive, Paxton, & Sidney - **These three have ended up being roped into the Buffman Bomber's scheme as his lackeys, but Clive is currently unaware of this, while Paxton and Sidney have their suspicions. For those of you who don't know who Clive is, he is a British Rail Class 14 introduced in _Thomas & Friends: Original Episodes' _"Tramway Tales", and has a very short attention span. He will be the one predominantly going through the arc of the three, but Pax and Sid will provide great supporting roles for him. Clive also seems to be treating Dora in a very friendly way, despite how dangerous she is...interesting.

But yes, the Buffman Bomber has laid his first strike! What danger remains for Sodor, and what happened between Salty and Soggy that caused Salty to leave Buffman Global? Who is Junior? Find out in the fourth chapter, _"_ Away from the Sea"!


	4. Away from the Sea

Thomas puffed away from the Docks, considerably shaken.

"Not tonight." He muttered to himself, and slipped away, unseen. Edward, BoCo, and a few ambulances took the men who had been on ship to hospital to rest for the night, while Murdoch left with his long goods train, considerably more somber than before. Cranky stared out at the water, where the ship had been, and sighed.

"Nothing like that has ever happened before. That _cannot_ have been an accident." Porter looked sadly down as he passed by below.

"Not much we can do about it now, Cranky. I think we should sleep." Porter saw Salty had moved towards a goods shed in another part of the yard, and rolled over to follow him.

"Salty? Are you alright?" He asked softly. Salty was silent for a moment before replying.

"Leave me alone." He said quietly. Porter raised an eyebrow.

"Salty, I'm trying to-"

"SHUT UP, AND GO AWAY!" Salty bellowed, his familiar sailor voice gone. Porter stood, hurt and silent, before rolling away towards the sheds where he would sleep alone for the night. Salty stood in dead silence, before recalling something he'd been forced to relive over and over for the past twenty years…

* * *

The little green diesel looked up above the black worker's cap rim above his face as he read the sign leading into his new workplace: "BUFFMAN TRANSPORT COMPANY". He gulped before entering the gates. Lines of trucks filled with crates were sorted onto sidings, but there didn't seem to be any engines anywhere. The diesel looked nervously around the yard, which was seemingly silent until…

"OUT OF THE WAY!" A big engine bellowed and whistled. The little diesel gasped and reversed out of the way as the longest train he had ever seen thundered by.

"Sorry!" The diesel called nervously. The big steam engine grunted.

"Mind your track!" He snapped in reply, and disappeared through the gates. As the long line of trucks thundered by, the diesel noticed a strange shape appear on the other side of the yard. He heard the shape gasp, before a voice rang out.

"Junior! The new engine's here!" A flat engine's excited voice rang out, before darting away behind a building.

"Is he? Well, blimey! We better greet him then!" Suddenly, emerging from behind the building were two engines. One was a green shunting tractor with a squashed face, and the other was a green tank engine with six small wheels, a short stumpy funnel, a short stumpy boiler, and a short stumpy dome. The shunting tractor appeared rather nervous, but the tank engine had a massive grin on his face.

"You must be the new engine!" He remarked, smiling warmly. The diesel faltered for a moment, unsure of what to say. The tank engine raised an eyebrow.

"You got a name, mate?" He asked. The diesel stammered for a moment.

"Um, no, I haven't, actually. Just a number." The little shunting tractor rolled alongside the diesel to verify this.

" _D2991…_ " The shunting tractor read, raising an eyebrow. The tank engine cleared his throat.

"Soggy! Don't be rude!" The shunting tractor immediately darted back towards him. The tank engine chuckled.

"Well, we'll come up with a proper name for you once we start working! I'm 'Millard Buffman Junior', named after the boss' son, but I just like to go by 'Junior'! This, over here, is Soggy."

"Hello!" Soggy called eagerly. The diesel smiled.

"Hello." He responded shyly. These new engines seemed friendly, but the yard still seemed very busy and he wasn't sure what to do. Junior noticed his new companion's frown and raised an eyebrow.

"Chin up, mate! We've a lot of trucks to shunt, and frowns do not make for hard work! Now, _D2991_ , get to it! Shunt those trucks!" He smiled, and looked towards a long line of grubby trucks on a siding. They growled at the diesel, who gulped. One appeared to spit out something into the dirt.

"N-now?" He stammered. Junior chuckled.

"Mm-hmm. No time like the present!" D2991 nervously gulped as he was switched towards the long line of trucks. He looked at the truck in front of him, who glared and snarled back.

"You want somethin', bud?" The diesel rolled forwards and gently buffered up to the line of trucks, before beginning to struggle and trying to push them forwards. They cackled loudly as the diesel struggled. Junior and Soggy shared a look before Junior whistled.

"Alright, come off it, mate!" D2991 stopped pushing to back up and panted as the trucks cackled. Junior eyed him up and down.

"You ever worked with trucks before?" He asked. The diesel blushed in embarrassment.

"Not this many. I've never had to before! How could you possibly keep them from being troublesome?" Soggy chuckled, before Junior grinned.

"You've got to keep the trucks _entertained_ to keep them in order, mate!" D2991 raised an eyebrow, confused.

"And what do you suggest?" He asked. Soggy snickered even louder.

"Junior likes using a _song!_ " He exclaimed. Junior grinned.

"Indeed I do! You wanna learn it?" He asked D2991 cheekily. The diesel was surprised.

"Um, alright." Junior grinned, hummed a note, and took a deep breath before…

" _Don't take away from the sea, boys!_

 _Don't take me away from the sea!_ " The trucks gasped and smiled before Junior rolled up to them and began to push. Unlike with D2991, they rolled along rather easily and seemed to be enjoying his song. D2991 watched with amazement as Junior began his jaunty tune again.

" _You may love your mountains, your rivers, and farms,_

 _You may say, "Come on along, lads, it won't do you no harm!"_

 _But I always say "No", cause there's one place for me!_

 _So don't let them take me away from the sea!_ " Junior finished shunting the trucks easily into the sidings, and reversed back towards the rest of the yard, where Soggy began rolling towards him to shunt more trucks. D2991 watched with amazement. Soggy joined in as their song continued.

" _Yo ho ho!_ " With each new word, Junior and Soggy added new trucks to their line.

" _And a bucket of prawns!_ " Soggy called happily as the trucks hummed below him.

" _We'll work by the sea from the night 'til the dawn!_

 _Yo ho ho! Cap'n, aye aye!_

 _We'll work 'til the sea rusts us dry!_ " The trucks happily fell in line with Junior and Soggy as they sang their tune. D2991 was impressed, but still confused.

"That really works?" Junior smirked as Soggy darted away.

"Course it does, mate; we wouldn't use it otherwise!" As Junior finished, Soggy raced by with more trucks.

" _Don't take me away from the sea, boys!_ " He sang, and the trucks giggled as they responded.

" _Don't take me away from the sea!_ " They harmonized as Soggy pushed them onto a siding where a crane began to load them up. D2991 still looked unsure, but Junior smiled.

"You need a hand, mate? I'll help you out if need be!" D2991 smiled affirmably as he backed down onto another line of trucks. He looked back at the sneering trucks and took a deep breath.

"Alright. Here I go." He began to uneasily sing as he began to pull forwards.

" _There's worms in the ground, and birds in the air,_

 _But if I was to see, I just wouldn't care!_ " Junior gasped with joy as the trucks began to move forward for D2991, and rolled alongside to add to the verse.

" _The salty sea air is what fills me with glee!_ " He sang, before he and D2991 grinned at each other.

" _They just cannot pry me away from the sea!_ " The two sang, before they left the trucks and got more, and alongside Soggy, they began to sing happily.

" _Yo ho ho!_ "

" _Smell that smell in the air!_ " D2991 sang with ease, as his trucks moved easily along the line. Junior and Soggy grinned at each other as the diesel sped ahead to fetch more trucks.

" _When I'm far away I just want to be there!_ " They echoed, before speeding ahead after their new friend. As they finished shunting the trucks into their sidings at the end of a long day's work, even the trucks themselves began to join in.

" _Yo ho ho! Cap'n, aye aye!_ " As they sang, Junior accidentally inhaled some of D2991's odor, which he had gained from working by the sea the entire day. He coughed furiously for a moment, interrupting the song, before smirking when all eyes were on him. He looked at the new diesel and smiled.

" _Perhaps 'Salty' ain't a bad name for this guy!_ " He chortled, looking at the diesel. The green diesel thought for a moment.

"'Salty'? Hmm…I like it!" With that, the newly christened Salty finished their song.

" _Don't take away from the sea, boys!_ " The three engines sang together as they backed into their shed with the yard entirely organized.

" _Don't take me away from the sea!_ " The three new friends laughed as the day turned to night.

* * *

Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, and Salty came to love his new job. He, Junior, and Soggy would shunt loads from the ships to trains for the bigger engines to take away, and they got quite good at it. The three became very good friends, and would even make silly jokes to each other as they moved their trucks.

"Yarr, drop anchor, cap'n!" Salty called in an over-the-top sailor voice as a crane lowered supplies from a ship into his trucks. Junior and Soggy, who were across the yard and heard Salty's joke, snorted with laughter.

"That's a great pirate impression, mate!" Junior chuckled. Soggy, if he could, would have keeled over with laughter.

"You almost sound like a real pirate!" Salty smirked humbly.

"What can I say? I have lots of time to practice, _me bucko!_ " The three chortled. Suddenly, one of Salty's trucks began to laugh.

"Maybe you should take to the sea like a pirate! You'll finally have a proper place to rust!" Junior rolled alongside and eyed the truck square in the face.

"Back off, mate, or you'll be the one in the sea." The truck cowered. Salty was surprised at this. Junior rolled alongside Salty.

"If you wrong you, never let them forget it." The diesel recoiled in surprise, but Junior had snapped back to his jovial self. The foreman walked up to them.

"No time for slacking off, you three! I need at least two of you up and about tonight; we're getting a big load in from a ship that Mr. Buffman wants out tonight. We'll be working until at least three in the morning!" He walked away, leaving Junior to groan, before realizing something and grinning.

"It's my turn, Soggy." He looked at the shunting tractor before grinning. Soggy groaned.

"But _Junior,_ why do you always save your turn for jobs like this?" Junior smirked.

"I know how to use our system! It's not my fault you use your 'illnesses' on the easier jobs!" Salty raised an eyebrow.

"'Illnesses'?" Soggy chuckled.

"Junior and I have a system that when there are jobs we don't want to do, one of us will pretend to be sick. It's Junior's turn this time." Junior chuckled.

"We'll deal you in during the quieter season, but I look forward to being well-rested for tomorrow!" Junior rolled over to the shed, before beginning to groan.

"Oh, I don't feel well…" He called, causing workmen to rush over. As they began to inspect his undercarriage, Junior winked at Soggy and Salty across the yard. Soggy rolled away, grumbling, but Salty simply watched with curiosity before rumbling away himself.

* * *

That evening, Junior remained in the sheds, having been considered ill. Soggy and Salty began to shunt the empty trucks into line to unload the massive ship pulling into the docks. Salty, however, had been thinking the entire day.

"I don't want to stay out late…" He muttered, before grinning.

"If Junior can do it, so can I…" Suddenly, he began to cough violently and groan. Soggy raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alright, Salty?" He asked. Salty groaned.

"I feel ill…I think I need to rest…" He coughed. Junior raised an eyebrow, before coughing himself.

"I suppose you could try to fire me up…" He called, and the men wasted no time. Salty reversed into the sheds to rest, while Junior was fired up and went out to shunt with Soggy. Salty chuckled as he went to sleep.

"It _does_ work!" He smirked to himself.

Junior and Soggy began shunting the trucks as they were filled with the shipment of crates. Salty lounged in the shed, but the two remaining engines moved their trucks about with relative ease. Eventually, however, Salty saw Junior reversing towards a line of braked trucks and called out.

"Junior, look out!" Junior gasped as he slammed into the lead truck of a line behind him, derailing it. Junior grimaced at the derailment, before taking a deep breath and smiling.

"No problem, I'll go around." He rolled back towards the main line, disappearing from the yard.

* * *

Junior had just made his way to the junction when he suddenly found that he couldn't go back after switching tracks.

"Hey! The points are jammed!" He called, but the signalman didn't hear him. Suddenly, a horn rang out and a light began fast approaching Junior in the dark of the night. Junior barely had any time to react as the shape fast approaching rammed into him in the darkness, causing him to somersault onto a nearby hill and tumble down. The sounds of crunching metal and rock filled the air before finally becoming silent.

* * *

It was morning before they could send a crane. Whatever had hit Junior had disappeared in the night, but Junior sure hadn't. Salty and Soggy rushed in with the yard's resident crane, and Junior was soon enough pulled onto a flatbed. When the two engines saw what the disaster had done to their friend, they gasped.

"NO!" Soggy screamed, as tears began to roll down his cheeks. Salty could only watch in horror. Junior's face was covered with bruises and scars, and he was barely managing to remain conscious. His frames were cracked and dented, and his wheels were barely staying on their axles; he looked like a pile of scrap. However, Salty and Soggy didn't have any time to go over to him, Mr. Buffman had already arrived and was speaking to Junior in a quiet voice. Junior appeared to be terrified of what he was hearing, but the two other engines could only hear one thing Mr. Buffman said.

"I promise it will be quick." A diesel honked its horn, and Junior was pulled away on his flatbed, towards the scrapyard. Soggy and Salty watched in horror until their friend had disappeared. There was a brief moment of silence before Soggy's crying began to grow audible, before he boiled over with rage and looked at Salty.

" _YOU DID THIS!_ " He blubbered. Salty tried to respond, but the crushing guilt continued to weigh down on him and he couldn't. Soggy switched onto Salty's line and began to repeatedly ram into him.

" _MURDERER! MURDERER! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!_ " Soggy's accusations began to dissolve into gibberish as he sobbed loudly. Salty simply stood, stoic.

* * *

Salty exited his memory and opened his eyes to see the surging rain outside. Porter and Cranky were nowhere around, and Salty was left alone to hear the same four words echo around his mind.

" _It's all your fault._ "

" _It's all your fault._ "

" _It's all your fault._ " Salty shut his eyes tightly and tried to go to sleep. However, as he slept he felt his face begin to grow wet. One almost couldn't tell the difference between the rain and his tears.

* * *

Sorry for the wait on this one, but I wanted to make it perfect. We now know Salty's backstory, and boy howdy is it tragic. Junior (who is not enough of a major newbie to get his own section, despite being important as an idea) is based on an LMS Fowler 3F, better known as a "Jinty", and has the distinction of being the first Thomas character killed off on screen. His impact on Salty and Soggy is very important for the flow of the story, and understanding Salty's arc. "Away from the Sea" is also a fun little tune, based on expanding Salty's various sea shanties from his appearances into a cohesive piece. Despite the emotional baggage of this chapter, it was a bit of a breather action-wise. But don't worry, because next chapter is filled with action, finally some comedy, and the introduction of our final main subplot. Get ready for Chapter 5, "The World's Richest Engine", soon!


	5. The World's Richest Engine

The sun rose after the storm to a relatively clear day. At Crovan's Gate, the Skarloey Railway engines were preparing for another day of work when they suddenly heard a horn they hadn't in a while.

"Is that…Beetle?" Skarloey asked in surprise, and sure enough Beetle the Ministry of Defence Shunter came rolling up the line towards the sheds. Standing behind his controls was a man in a military uniform the engines hadn't seen before. Beetle drew closer.

"Hup two three four! Hup two three four!" Beetle called, as he pulled into the yard in his proverbial march. The man in the military uniform stepped down from Beetle just as The Thin Controller arrived at the sheds.

"Bright and early, Captain Bridges! What's all the hullabaloo?" He asked. Captain Bridges stepped down.

"My higher-ups have sent me here to give you all a warning. Beetle and I will be making our way around the island warning everyone of something rather serious."

"Nothing too dangerous, I hope?" Rheneas replied worriedly, sharing a look with Skarloey. Beetle looked gravely at the engines.

"I'm afraid it is. _Very_ dangerous." Captain Bridges eyed the engines in the sheds before beginning to speak.

"Several nights ago, a dangerous piece of confiscated ministry property was stolen while it was being loaded onto one of our ships-"

"What was it?" Peter Sam asked, terrified, but Duncan and Duke shushed him. The engine next to him seemed rather disinterested. Captain Bridges cleared his throat before continuing.

"This piece of property was a German rail cannon, and is incredibly dangerous. If you see any sign of it being in the area, report it to ministry personnel. We have put out a reward of _one million pounds_ for anyone who assists the capture of Gün Dora and the individuals who stole her." The Thin Controller looked at Captain Bridges and nodded.

"We'll keep an eye out for anything, captain." Captain Bridges nodded back, and climbed aboard Beetle. Beetle looked at the engines before shutting one eye.

"Stay vigil, civilians." He said gravely, before rolling away. The Thin Controller then turned back to look at the engines once he had gone.

"Work continues as usual, but look for any sign of that cannon." He walked away.

"Yes, sir." The engines replied, and they all began to leave to fulfill their normal duties. Not one, however, as he was rather distracted.

"One million pounds?" Sir Handel, who was rather disinterested by the entire affair before the mention of the money, asked in disbelief. His look of surprise was replaced with a wide, malicious grin; the gears in his head were spinning. He cackled to himself.

"With that kind of money I could run this railway…" He smirked, before looking straight to an invisible audience with a completely deadpan expression. Inexplicably, he decided to sing.

" _Life_

 _is disappointing!_ " Sir Handel began to recall instances in the past where he had been made to look like a fool.

" _Always pointing out my flaws,_ " He remembered coming off the rails on his first day.

" _Making people drop their jaws!_ " He remembered George the Steamroller swerving into his train and everyone laughing at him for nearly losing a race to a steamroller. Sir Handel's mind returned to the present, where he watched the other engines leaving around him.

" _Life!_

 _What a drivel!_ " His smirk returned as he began to slowly reverse into the darkness of the shed.

" _But I can swivel into self improvement…_ " When Sir Handel pulled out of the shed on the other side, and his song began to pick up, the shed was much longer than it had been before.

" _I'll buy a shed with thirty nine berths, and they'll all be mine!_ " As he reversed away from his long fantasy shed, an imaginary Skarloey, Peter Sam, and Duncan popped out of the berths.

" _They'll all be mine!_ " They sang backup. Sir Handel continued to grin as he rolled past Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima, and Beatrice, who were sitting on a siding.

" _I'll pull no more stupid cattle trucks, only bogie coaches that are fine!_ " Agnes simply scowled as Rheneas, Rusty, and Duke rolled past them to sing more backup.

" _Oh so fine!_ " They sang. Agnes growled. Sir Handel, however, took no notice as he began to saunter down his line with no concern at all.

" _Absolutely no one can order me around!_

 _Because when you're rollin' i-in moolah, you can run the town!_ " Sir Handel grinned as he came up to some trucks that were piled high with money. His pupils became dollar signs as he began shunting the trucks along the line.

" _They might try to stop me and say_

 _"_ _Most things in life ain't free!_ " He passed Luke, who was sitting taking on water.

" _Ba-doo-ba-doo-ba-doo-ba-dow,_ " Luke crooned in a deep voice nothing like his own. Sir Handel continued shunting his trucks filled with money as the other narrow gauge engines filed behind him.

" _But Sir Handel's gonna be on top,_

 _Because the 'World's Richest Engine' is gonna be me!_ " Sir Handel beamed happily as he passed a farm, where some pigs were playing in slop. The other engines braked to a halt as Sir Handel moved forward with a smug look on his face.

" _I won't have to touch any pig from a farm!_ " He called back, as the engines stopped behind watched as the pigs danced into their trucks.

" _From a farm, from a fa-a-a-arm!_ " The engines sang, as they were splashed with mud from the pigs. Up ahead, alongside Sir Handel, Millie rolled alongside him. Her makeup was more elaborate than usual.

" _You'll get a pretty little French zing on your arm!_ " She sang, eyelids fluttering. Sir Handel looked straight at his "audience" again, eyebrows wiggling.

" _I don't have arms but the analogy still works!_

 _The Thin Controller can't tell me what to do, because…_ " Sir Handel grinned as he passed the Thin Controller waiting on a station platform in a jester's costume. As Sir Handel rolled by, he bumped his trucks and a few bills flew loose, causing the Thin Jester to frantically grab for them.

"GUESS WHAT, PERCIVAL? _I'm richer than you!_ " Sir Handel cackled as the other engines pulled up behind him as the yard widened again.

" _They can't keep you from getting that cash!_ " Sir Handel grinned maliciously as two birds that seemed to be folded out of bills flew by.

" _My eyes are on the prize!_ " The other engines looked at each other with cheeky smiles before continuing to sing.

" _You're gonna be the 'World's Richest Engine'_

 _Despite your diminutive size!_ " Sir Handel braked sharply and glared at his backup singers.

"Hey!" Suddenly, the world seemed to go dark. A spotlight reappeared that showed that Sir Handel was now atop a grand piano like a lounge singer, with a martini glass on his running plate. Mr. Hugh was at the keys, playing in front of a stacked audience in an opera house. Sir Handel began to croon his heart out.

" _I try so hard to be the best_

 _To be so much better than the rest_

 _I try to make them see my views_

 _But they all say I've got…_ " Sir Handel snapped out of opera mode to stare deadpan at the audience again.

"'Issues'.

 _But when I've got that fine reward_

 _I can settle any score_

 _Because when you've got tons of dough_

 _They'll all listen when you say 'nooooooo'"_ Sir Handel's crooning grew louder as the music began to pick up again, but he was cut off by…

"Sir Handel! Sir Handel!" The blue engine's eyes popped open, back in the normal two-row shed.

"WHAT?" He screeched, infuriated. In front of him was Peter Sam, who looked rather startled at his outburst.

"Come on, Sir Handel! The Thin Controller wants us at the Wharf right away! We have a lot of trucks to unload!" Sir Handel rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Let's go." He puffed forwards and the two engines rolled off towards the wharf.

* * *

Colin was hard at work at the Wharf, unloading barges. It was usually lonely work, so he was delighted when he heard two of his friends' whistles.

"Blue dude! Green dude! So bodacious of you to show up at my dock! What brings you down to my humble wharf?" He grinned, his perpetually half-closed eyes never changing. Peter Sam smiled as Sir Handel grumbled away to fetch the trucks.

"We're here to help you unload the barges, Colin!" Colin grinned.

"Righteous! It gets lonely around here, dudes, so the company is always appreciated!" He called. Peter Sam chuckled as Sir Handel shunted some trucks within Colin's reach.

"We're always glad to come here, right, Sir Handel?" Sir Handel harrumphed; he was not always glad to come there. Peter Sam glared for a moment before gasping and looking back at Colin.

"Did you hear about the rail cannon that's out and about now, Colin? Rather scary, in my opinion." Peter Sam remarked, shivering a bit. Colin chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, dude, I saw that thing get stolen!" He replied. Sir Handel's brakes slammed on in astonishment. The gears began to turn in his head and a wide smirk spread across his face.

"If they got it from here to begin with…the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime. Or at least, I'll make them…heh heh." Sir Handel looked up at Colin.

"Colin, could you please repeat that last thought?" Colin raised an eyebrow (but not an eyelid) in surprise.

"Umm…'yeah dude, I saw that thing get stolen'?" Sir Handel began giggling maniacally.

"You _did?_ "

"It was _freaky,_ man!" Colin replied. Peter Sam raised an eyebrow as Sir Handel began to roll forwards, chuckling.

"Sir Handel, what are you-"

"SADDLE UP, BOYS! WE'VE GOT A CANNON TO FIND!" Sir Handel shouted, and burst out into song once more.

" _They might TRY to stop me, and say, 'Most things in life, they just ain't free!'_

 _BUT, Sir Handel's gonna come on top because the 'World's Richest Engine' is gonna be, gonna be, gonna be, gonna be…"_ Sir Handel ran out of breath and frantically took a deep inhale before singing his final high note.

" _ME!_ " Sir Handel rolled backwards while holding the note, while Peter Sam and Colin shared a glance as they began to sing back up beneath the final note.

" _His name isn't Darryl, his nose isn't runny_

 _He isn't placed right behind or right in front of me_

 _Cause Sir Handel is rollin' in cash, moolah, money…_ "

" _It's gonna be, gonna be ME!_ " Sir Handel held his high note with delight as the music went wild. Finally it cut out; Sir Handel had a goal.

"Hah!" Nothing would stand between him and that cash. Not even a giant rail cannon.

* * *

Skyler the Submarine was at it again. As humungous ships sailed by above, filled with cargo, Skyler busied herself in the bay below, snorkel in mouth and swim goggles on. As she scanned the waters for anything, she suddenly saw a shape dart through the water; this had been what she was looking for. Skyler smirked behind her snorkel and snuck towards it.

" _Come on, sheila…_ " She thought to herself as she inched closer to the mysterious fish. The fish began to sense Skyler's presence and began to swim faster, but Skyler only continued to go faster like a predator chasing its prey. Suddenly, the fish swerved upwards leaving Skyler to jet to a halt to prevent herself from hitting a wall in front of her.

" _You bloody yob-_ whoa." Bubbles escaped from behind Skyler's snorkel as she realized what she had almost hit; it was the sunken Trident, sitting on the bay floor. Carefully, Skyler began moving towards it. She investigated the ship's bent and burnt hull when she suddenly noticed something sticking out of the side.

" _Blimey!_ " She thought, and moved closer. It was shaped like a bullet, but was much, much, larger than one. Carefully, Skyler scanned the ocean floor and noticed a large, rusty chain. Quickly, she descended and picked up the chain using a rig on her bottom especially designed for this purpose. She soon enough had wrapped it around the bullet-like object, and, after attaching the other end of the chain to her rig, began to pull hard. She groaned as the heavy object caused the chain to tighten, but soon enough, the bullet had been pulled out of the Trident's hull. Skyler sighed with relief. This relief did not last long. The bullet was much heavier than Skyler thought it would be, and it began to drag her towards the bay floor. Her eyes widened in surprise as she began to struggle against it.

" _I'll be stuffed!_ " She gaped, and struggled to pull the bullet to the surface. It dangled in the water below, and Skyler struggled to find a place to resurface due to all the ships. Her face began to turn red due to the lack of air, until she finally saw a spot to resurface. On the land above, Porter and Salty were shunting some trucks for Cranky when they heard a noise and a loud voice.

"WILL ONE OF YOU FRUIT LOOPS GET THIS FAT THING OUT OF THE BLEEDIN' WATER?"

* * *

Cranky held the mysterious bullet above the line. Porter looked up at it curiously.

"Where did you say you found this, Skyler?" He asked. Skyler coughed nearby the quay; she hadn't quite recovered from nearly drowning.

"In the hull of that ship that blew herself up last night." She replied. Suddenly, a horn sounded out and Winston sped into the docks with the Fat Controller on-board.

"What's this I hear about a submarine finding a bullet in the Trident?" Cranky turned towards them with the bullet in his hook.

"That's what it looks like, sir." He lowered the bullet towards the line for the Fat Controller to inspect it. Skyler bobbed up and down to try and get a better look.

"I'd bet my snorkel that's what caused that ship to cark it!" She called. The Fat Controller scratched his chin.

"Very curious, very curious indeed…Well, I think we should bring this information to the mil-" He was cut off by the blasting of a loud horn, and suddenly four military diesels arrived.

"Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four!"

"HALT!" The diesels braked to a halt, one of them had Beetle on a flatbed behind them, who had been the one to call the order. As the cavalcade came to a halt, Captain Bridges stepped out of the cab of the one that had had Beetle on the flatbed, and walked towards Cranky and the Fat Controller.

"It seems we may have arrived a little too late." He said stoically. The Fat Controller raised an eyebrow and pointed at the bullet.

"You know what this is, Captain?" Captain Bridges nodded.

"Several nights ago, a highly dangerous rail cannon we were transporting was stolen from one of our ships. We had reason to believe that it was used to blow up the Trident; now we have proof. That's one of its bullets, no doubt about it." Everyone present gasped.

"A _rail cannon?_ " Porter marveled in horror. Salty gulped uncomfortably. Captain Bridges then turned to the Fat Controller.

"If you could spread the word on this menace, that would be a huge help to us." The Fat Controller nodded and began returning to Winston.

"Certainly, Captain." However, a hand on his shoulder caused the Fat Controller to turn around. Captain Bridges stared him in the face.

"Keep your engines out of this. As we've seen in incidents like those of the Rail Bandits last year, some members of your fleet have a tendency to get… _involved_." The Fat Controller nodded again, and sped away in Winston. Captain Bridges returned to the cab of the shunter.

"Off we go, Beetle." He called back to the narrow gauge engine. Beetle smirked.

"FORWARD, MARCH!" The diesels moved forwards, rolling out of the docks. As Porter, Salty, Cranky, and Skyler watched them leave, they felt extreme unease. Porter finally broke the silence.

"Well…back to work, everyone!" He rolled back to shunt more trucks, and Salty rolled off in the other direction. Skyler, however, remained in thought.

" _If what that digger Bridges said was true, then that means that big sheila has to have been fired from somewhere, right?_ " Her eyes wandered until they spotted a cliff across the bay, with railway lines atop it. She smirked.

" _I may lob in on that…_ " She dove beneath the waves and went to inspect the cliff.

* * *

Den shunted some trucks past a darkened siding, completely minding his own business. After the big shunter had gone, Paxton emerged from behind some crates. He looked left, and then he looked right, and let out a sigh of relief when he realized there was no one there. Quickly, he reversed back to where Clive and Sidney were keeping watch over Dora.

"Coast is clear for now." He said quickly. Clive smiled obliviously at Dora.

"See, everything is okay! No one can hurt you!" Dora remained quiet and afraid.

"Not if that scary engine comes back…" She whimpered. Paxton and Sidney shared a nervous glance, but Clive remained cheerful.

"Oh, I'm sure he's a nice engine deep down! He just seems a little gruff, that's all!" Dora looked dumbfounded at Clive's lack of perception.

" _He used me to blow up a ship. Vhat could possibly be 'nice deep down' about that?_ " She screeched. Paxton frantically shushed her. Clive simply looked confused.

"No…no one could possibly be that… _mean._ " He tried to process what Dora had said. Dora sighed.

"He's going to use me again tonight, and I'll hurt even more people...please. Clive, don't let him." Clive tried to speak, but he was suddenly cut off by the sound of clanking steel. Paxton and Sidney chirped with fear.

"I don't even remember why we're scared…" Sidney whispered. The mysterious engine stared his three minions down.

"Come on. We've got work to do." He rolled around Dora to buffer up to the back, leaving Sidney to follow him and Clive and Paxton to back down in front. Dora begin to cry again.

"You can't let him, Clive!" Clive began shushing her.

"Everything will be okay, I promise."

* * *

"Ah." Murdoch loved the night air. He was out on a container train, and was currently heading up the coastal track before continuing on to his final destination. It felt good to get away from the noisy other engines.

"Peace and quiet…" He took a deep breath and sighed it out. However, across the bay on another cliff, the mysterious bomber slammed Dora into position again.

"DON'T! PLEASE!" Dora cried. The villain grinned.

"FIRE!" Murdoch didn't even hear the cry before the side of the cliff just behind him exploded. Murdoch's train flew into the air, dragging him with it. Luckily for Murdoch, his crew had leapt clear and the coupling had snapped in mid-air from the force of the explosion. However, as Murdoch slammed into the ballast on his side, badly burnt, the rest of his Buffman containers were dragged into the gaping hole in the cliffside below. Murdoch coughed in pain.

"There goes me peace and quiet…" He groaned, before passing out.

* * *

Once again, sorry it's been a while. However, I have now been admitted into college, so I should have a lot more time to write these on a more regular schedule for the rest of my senior year.

Now, new things:

\- **Sir Handel, Peter Sam, and Colin -** The final of our four subplots, and the comedic one of the four. Sir Handel is one of my absolutely favorite characters, and giving him a major role in this special was a lot of fun. Sir Handel's song, "The World's Richest Engine" (which you can listen to me singing on SoundCloud, by the way), is an utterly hilarious comedic romp into just how screwed up he is in the head. His role is to be on his own quest to find Dora, and he's going to end up crossing the path of the Buffman Bomber soon!

A lot happened this chapter; Sir Handel's on the hunt, Skyler has her suspicions, and Murdoch is out of commission. However, even more chaos will occur next chapter, in which I can finally start calling the Buffman Bomber that within the narrative! Come back soon for our sixth chapter, "Out of the Way"!


	6. Out of the Way

Thomas was the first engine up the following morning. His fire burnt nicely as he sat in the shed, taking a deep breath of morning air. However, his calm, as well as the sleep of the other engines was interrupted when his crew ran in.

"Thomas! We've got to head to the Search and Rescue Centre right away!" His driver called, as the fireman began checking Thomas' levers. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Why, what happened?"

"Murdoch's been in a bad accident, and we have to get Rocky to rescue him!" The other engines gasped.

"Oh no!" Percy gasped. Henry winced.

"I hope he's alright…" Thomas began pulling away from the shed. Emily called after him.

"Tell us if Murdoch's okay!" Thomas whistled back, and continued on to the Search & Rescue Centre.

* * *

"Easy does it, Murdoch, I've got you!" Rocky lifted Murdoch into the air and placed him onto a flatbed truck. The ash-covered Murdoch groaned as Thomas rolled alongside. The tank engine cringed in disgust as he saw Murdoch's bent boiler frames from the impact. Thomas continued rolling along the line, but suddenly heard a loud cry.

"Thomas, stop!" Thomas slammed his brakes on, and came just to the edge of the cliff. Reversing quickly to be alongside Murdoch, he took a deep breath of relief.

"Murdoch, did whatever derailed you do _that_?" He stammered. Murdoch gave a groan of affirmation.

"Mm-hmm. Was just minding me own business, next thing I knae I'm ten feet in the air with me trucks in the ocean." Murdoch coughed furiously. Rocky shushed him.

"Easy, Murdoch, save your strength." Thomas saw the Fat Controller speaking with Captain Bridges and rolled towards him to hear part of their conversation.

"…no doubt whoever carried out this attack had Gün Dora. Same as the Trident." The Fat Controller finished. Captain Bridges nodded.

"Yes. However, there is some good to come out of this." The Fat Controller frowned.

"Captain, one of my engines could be in need of a rebuild from his damage! I fail to see how there is _any_ good in this situation!" Captain Bridges, however, looked out towards the cliffs.

"We now know that this attacker has a target: enterprises owned by Buffman Global, your new business partner." The Fat Controller looked surprised, but Thomas gasped.

"So what do you think we should do about this…this…'Buffman Bomber'?" Captain Bridges turned back to the Fat Controller.

"Leave it to us, sir. The best thing for you to do is to call Mr. Buffman and let him know what is happening." He cleared his throat and gestured towards a watching Thomas, causing the Fat Controller to turn around on his heels in surprise.

"Thomas!" Thomas looked at the Fat Controller.

"Sir, we have to stop the Buffman Bomber, before they hurt-"

" _You_ will be doing no such thing, Thomas the Tank Engine." The Fat Controller said sternly. Thomas stammered.

"But, sir-"

"You have to leave this to the proper authorities, Thomas. The Ministry of Defence explicitly told me that they don't want any of my engines getting in their business, and that includes you!"

"But, I can help, sir-"

"A way you _can_ help, Thomas, is to go to the Container Yard and help out on container trains." Rocky raised an eyebrow, and Thomas looked at the Fat Controller in confusion.

"Sir, I'm not strong enough to pull Murdoch's trains."

"No, no, no, Thomas. I meant help _shunt_ container trains. Mr. Buffman called me up this morning and explained that he is sending an executive member of his staff to fill in for Murdoch."

"Who will run my branch line, sir?"

"Percy and Toby are more than capable of handling it on their own!" The Fat Controller had already boarded Winston and driven away, leaving Thomas to sadly make his way to the Container Yard.

* * *

However, in the water below…

"HOLY DOOLEY!" Skyler gasped as she returned to the surface. She coughed and blew water out of her snorkel before rapidly looking around.

"That is the _last_ time I go cliff-watching, geez…" She then began to remember the previous night…

* * *

 _Skyler had reached a dead-end in her search. There were some large cliffs in the way of her hypothesized path of Gün Dora, and as a result she was trying to study where the rail cannon could have possibly been fired._

 _"_ _Give me a lead! Something! Tangible evidence!" Her eyes caught the cliff above where she noticed a cloud of steam rising into the air._

 _"_ _Must be one of those goods engines…" She muttered, but the peace was soon disturbed. The next thing Skyler knew she was witnessing a large explosion and rocks began to fall from the cliffside…right in front of her!_

 _"_ _OH CRIKEY!" Quickly, she scanned the bottom of the cliffs for some place where she could take shelter, and found a cove. She took a great gulp of air, and dove beneath the waves to escape the falling rocks._

* * *

Skyler glared up at the cliffside above.

"If it was that cannon again, the bullet must be around here somewhere…" She looked to see if it was lodged in the cliffside somewhere, but couldn't find anything. She looked down at the water and groaned.

" _Duh,_ gravity." She took a deep breath and descended into the water. She looked around from behind her goggles and finally spotted the bullet, lying on the ocean floor. It was just like the one that she had pulled out of the Trident's hull.

"Bingo." She smirked. She returned to the surface and scanned the cliffside to find a place where the bullet would have reached impact.

"That dent looks about right." She commented as she saw a particularly indented area of the cliffside. She turned around and looked out towards the bay. Her goggles slid back down onto her eyes.

"Take two." She put the snorkel in her mouth and dove underwater before continuing off in the direction the bullet had come from.

* * *

The Container Yard was a decent distance away, so Thomas had to pass through a lot of stations on his way there. Every station he passed, he heard engines discussing…

"Have you heard about the Buffman Bomber?" Edward asked Molly as Thomas rolled through Wellsworth.

"The Buffman Bomber?" James asked Henry as Thomas rolled through Maron.

"He has a giant rail cannon and he's attacking the company that owns the Container Yard!" Emily explained to Lucian at Killdane as Thomas sped through.

"The island is in serious danger!" Gordon explained to Bear at Kellsthorpe Road as Thomas was directed towards Kirk Ronan. Thomas winced.

"Somebody _has_ to stop him, before he does anymore damage!" Thomas, however, couldn't, and he simply continued on towards the container yard.

* * *

When Thomas arrived, construction on the yard had been finished and everything was in full swing. He saw Curtis rapidly placing containers in different parts of the yard. His face was as white as a sheet, and he was muttering something to himself.

"I have to finish before the Boss shows up…I don't want to see _him_ mad…" Thomas whistled, causing Curtis to yelp in surprise.

"GAH! THOMAS!" He dropped the container he had been carrying and slammed it into the rails, causing Thomas to cringe.

"Curtis, what's wrong? Who's coming?" Curtis stammered.

"No one's coming! No one at all! Nothing's wrong! NOTHING'S WRONG!" Quickly, he picked up the container and sped away along his gantry rails, leaving a very confused Thomas behind, but a loud horn suddenly sounded out that caused Curtis to drop his container and a nearby Soggy to screech to a halt.

"The boss!" Curtis squeaked, and rolled as far back on his gantry rails as possible to try and evade the glance of the figure who had just entered the yard. Thomas looked ahead and saw "the Boss", who was a figure he immediately recognized from the video.

"Deltic!" Thomas gasped under his breath. Sure enough, Deltic, Head of Distribution, scanned the yard with an icy cold stare. He stared at Soggy, who shrunk back.

"Hello, Mr. Deltic, sir." He said quietly. Deltic glared.

"Unbelievable what passes for a yard nowadays. I get a call in my shed last night from Mr. Buffman telling me that your distributor got 'blown up', and that I have to come down here to take his place for the time being, and _this_ is what I come here to? You better be sure that corporate is going to hear about this!" Soggy and Curtis looked at each other fearfully. Deltic raised an eyebrow.

"What are you layabouts standing around for? Get back to work!" Soggy and Curtis quickly returned to work. Deltic was about to move forwards when he saw Thomas and quickly diverted his gaze.

"And _who_ are you?" He asked indignantly. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"I'm Thomas." Deltic rolled his eyes.

"No, what's your job, tank engine?"

"I'm here to help out with shunting." Deltic growled.

"Great, a steamer. Just what I need." He still hadn't looked at Thomas throughout their whole conversation. Thomas narrowed his gaze.

"Why aren't you looking at me?" He asked, but Deltic rapidly changed the subject.

"Take my advice, steamer. Do your work, and stay out of the way. Where's my double shunt fuel?" He called as he rolled away to fetch a container train. Thomas raised an eyebrow, but rolled off to fetch some containers. He rolled alongside Soggy, who was having trouble shifting a long line of containers.

"Come on, come on…HEY!" Soggy felt Thomas buffer up behind him. Thomas smiled.

"We're going to be working together, so we may as well help each other out. I'm Thomas!" Soggy's eyes widened, as the little engine reminded him of somebody he had known long ago.

"Soggy." The two worked together and managed to shunt the containers into position for Curtis to load up.

* * *

"Who knows who the Buffman Bomber's next target will be?" Gator finished, talking to Ryan about the latest attacks at Harwick Harbour. The topic had spread across the island like wildfire, and had even reached the farthest reaches of the island. Suddenly, Gator saw Clive entering Harwick Harbour with a line of heavy stone trucks.

"Hey, Clive! You heard anything about the Buffman Bomber?" Clive wasn't paying attention. He appeared to have a lot on his mind.

"I wonder what's up with him?" Gator asked, and he and Ryan shared a look of concern as Clive left his trucks on a siding and sped away.

* * *

Clive arrived at the Dieselworks, scanned to see if anyone was around, and sped onto the familiar dark siding, where Paxton and Sidney were waiting. Dora smiled weakly.

"Clive! You're here!" She managed a brief moment of happiness before returning to her despair.

"He's going to use me again, just like he used me to attack that engine yesterday. I did not vant to do it, but it's not in my control…" Clive saw his friend's misery, and the fear of Paxton and Sidney, and his eyes narrowed.

"Dora, I promised you'd be okay, and I mean that. I'm going to stop him." Clive rolled away, causing a shocked Paxton and Sidney to follow him.

"Clive, how are we supposed to stop him?" Sidney asked, bewildered.

"He's a maniac with a cannon!" Paxton continued. Clive's expression hardened; he was very focused.

"He's one engine, and we're three. There's no way he can beat all three of us."

"You forget something." A deep raspy voice startled the three diesels, and sure enough, the Buffman Bomber was sitting behind them, glaring from under his hood. Paxton and Sidney began to cower, but Clive remained determined.

"We won't let you use our friend to hurt any more people! You want to use her, you have to go through us!" He smirked, but the Buffman Bomber simply chuckled.

"You may be three engines, but I'm one engine and a _rail cannon._ " Quickly, he rammed Clive backwards, taking the other two with him, and he took the time to speed across the points towards Dora and begin ramming into her to aim her straight towards the Dieselworks.

"NO! STOP!" Dora began to cry in fear. Clive tensed up in panic. He could hear the voices of the other diesels inside the Dieselworks, and he could hear the Bomber preparing to fire her. Finally…

"Stop! We're sorry! We'll do anything you say!" Paxton squeaked, horrified. The Bomber smirked before ramming into Dora and aiming her away from the Dieselworks.

"That's more like it. I came to check on you all, keep up the good work on guard duty, mates." He began to roll away, but stopped next to Clive and shot him a hard glare from under his hood.

"If you _ever_ try to pull something like that again, I will take that cannon and _destroy everything you cherish,_ got it?" Clive didn't answer.

"GOT IT?" Clive winced in fear.

"Yes, I got it." He replied. The Buffman Bomber smirked.

"Good." He rolled away, leaving Clive to keep guarding.

* * *

The top of Skyler's snorkel began to rise out of the water as she angrily glared at another cliff face.

"Oh, come on!" She looked around to try and find some sort of river she could follow, but there was nothing. The water ended here.

"I'm going to need someone else to go up there for me if I want a fair go…" She muttered. She scanned the cliffside, and suddenly saw a column of steam. She grinned.

"I can get one of those engines to help…" She reentered the water again, and sped back towards the docks.

* * *

Deltic's on the scene, Skyler needs an ally, and Thomas is stuck in the Container Yard to keep him out of the Ministry of Defence's business. A lot has happened this chapter, and I'm very excited that I can now get chapters to you all on a more regular schedule. Who will Skyler's ally be? Why won't Deltic look at Thomas? Will Clive and the other diesels keep the Buffman Bomber from using Dora to his own ends? Find out in the seventh chapter, _An Offer You Can't Refuse,_ coming soon!


	7. An Offer You Can't Refuse

"A little to the left, Colin!"

"Dude, I'm trying, but this is as far left as I can take it!"

"Try harder!" Colin groaned as he tried to move a crate to where Sir Handel had specified, despite it being out of his range. He winced as the crate hit the ground, nearby Peter Sam, who was shunting some trucks.

"Sorry, man!" Colin called across the yard.

"It's alright, Colin!" Peter Sam replied. However, he noticed that a reversing Sir Handel wasn't paying attention to Colin's mistake.

"Sir Handel?" The little engine was stuck in his imagination.

" _We love you, Sir Handel!_ "

" _The world's richest engine!_ "

"…Yes…." Sir Handel chuckled to himself, but a sharp blast of a whistle snapped him out of his fantasy.

"Sir Handel, look out!" Sir Handel slammed his brakes on and came to a halt to avoid colliding with whatever hazard may have been present, but only heard his trucks hitting the buffers with a soft "ting".

"What was that for? I wasn't in any danger!" He snapped at Peter Sam, who glared right back.

"Sir Handel, those trucks are full of gunpowder! If you had derailed, they could've gone up and taken you with them!" Sir Handel peered back, and sure enough the trucks had been labeled "D. FUSIT GUNPOWDER". Sir Handel blushed in embarrassment for a moment, before scowling at Peter Sam and puffing away. Peter Sam rolled to follow him.

"Sir Handel, I get that you want your reward money, but…"

"There is no 'but', Peter Sam! We're getting the money and that's that!"

"Your plan isn't exactly… _safe_ , Sir Handel." Peter Sam put in awkwardly.

"Seconding that one, dudes. If I keep tossing crates around, someone could get hurt! That would _so_ harsh my mellow, man." Colin called to the two engines. Peter Sam looked at Sir Handel as if Colin had proven his point. Sir Handel scoffed.

"You two are just paranoid. My plan is foolproof! Now, come on!" He sped away before Peter Sam could retort. Colin winced as Peter Sam sighed.

"That's harsh, little dude. You think he'll come around?"

"I want to say yes, but, knowing Sir Handel, it's not likely. Oh, well. Come on, Colin." Peter Sam puffed away to follow Sir Handel, leaving Colin to return to work. The gunpowder wagons remained in the shed.

* * *

Thomas worked hard in the Container Yard. The trucks were heavier than he was used to, but he was otherwise enjoying himself.

"Ready for another load, Curtis!" Thomas called at the container crane above, as he appeared to be taking a nap. Thomas chuckled at the sleeping crane.

"Napping on the job, Curtis?" He asked cheekily. Curtis snorted awake, his eyes popping out.

"What? No! Wasn't napping! Working hard! You're the one who's napping! I'm working hard! Working hard! Working hard!" He sped away to pick up containers to load Thomas' trucks with. Thomas laughed and looked to a nearby Soggy, who, as always, was sporting a perpetual scowl.

"Working hard or hardly working?" He joked. Thomas saw Soggy crack a small smile.

"Good one." He chuckled. Thomas smiled and returned to work after Curtis had loaded his trucks.

* * *

As Thomas and Soggy continued to work together, Soggy started to warm up to the little blue engine.

"Come on, trucks! Get in line!" Thomas shouted as he banged the heavy container trucks together, before accidentally ramming them into James, who was waiting to take a container train.

"Hey! Watch it, Thomas!" He snapped. Thomas smirked.

"Not my fault you stopped in my path, lazybones!" He laughed and Soggy joined in. James simply grunted and rolled away from the Container Yard. Soggy laughed hard before looking at Thomas fondly.

"You know, the yard's gotten a lot more positive since you arrived, Junior!" Soggy immediately realized what he had said and fell silent, an awkward silence filling the air. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Who's Junior?" He asked. Soggy looked sad for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Don't you mind, Thomas. We should get back to work." Soggy uneasily rolled away, clearly made uncomfortable by what had occurred. Thomas let the moment sink in, and then rolled over towards a slow-moving Soggy.

"Soggy, about what time does work for the day wrap up?" Soggy raised an eyebrow.

"You've still another four hours. Don't tell me you're getting tired on me already?" Thomas chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"No, Soggy, I'm not getting tired. I need to figure out what time I can look for the Buffman Bomber." Soggy's brakes slammed on in surprise. He glared sharply at Thomas.

"Doesn't the military want you to steer clear of that whole thing?" He asked. Thomas stammered.

"Well, yes, b-but-"

"Look, Hatt told us we weren't allowed to let you leave this yard until the military catches the Buffman Bomber. If I were you, I'd sit back and-"

"Why are you idling about?" Soggy jumped in surprise, as Deltic was on the other line.

"J-Just explaining some protocol to the new arrival, Mr. Deltic!" He yipped. Deltic raised an eyebrow and narrowed his gaze at Soggy.

"Back to work, Sogliole."

"Yes, sir!" Soggy sped away, causing Deltic'a vision to shift. He caught Thomas' eye for a brief moment, before hastily shutting his eyes and rolling away to the front of a container train. Thomas raised an eyebrow, and rolled over towards Soggy.

"Hey, Soggy? Why doesn't Deltic like looking at me?" Soggy shuddered.

"I'd prefer not to know how that engine's mind works."

"But he looks at you just fine! Is it…is it because I'm a steam engine?" Thomas braked to a halt and thought for a moment, before speeding in Deltic's direction. Soggy gasped and braked to a halt.

"Thomas! What are you doing? _Thomas!_ " Thomas had already sped towards where Deltic was inspecting a container train, leaving Soggy to follow. Thomas cleared his throat upon rolling alongside Deltic.

"What?" The big diesel didn't look at Thomas, but the tank engine remained determined.

"Do you not like me because I'm a steam engine?" He asked rather bluntly. Soggy braked to a halt to cringe in discomfort. Deltic's eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing again in anger.

" _Excuse me?_ " Anyone else would have back down, but not Thomas.

"Ever since I started working here, you have not looked me in the eyes _once._ You must have some reason to dislike me. I'm the only steam engine here, so it must be because I'm a steam engine, right?" Deltic began to grit his teeth in anger.

"Why you insolent little-"

"OKAY! I think we've seen enough here, wouldn't you agree?" Soggy sped in to diffuse the situation, chuckling nervously as Thomas and Deltic stared each other down. His words didn't seem to make a difference about the anger between the two engines. He scanned the yard until he found a lone container train on a siding.

"Thomas! That train needs to go to Brendam Docks on the double!" He called. Thomas looked away from Deltic.

"But, Soggy-"

"No buts, Thomas, now!" Thomas rolled towards the trucks, but not before shooting a final glare at Deltic. As Thomas rolled away, Soggy let out a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one…" He muttered to himself. However, he heard Deltic clearing his throat and looked up him. The big diesel was not in a good mood.

"Back to work, Sogliole."

"Y-yes, sir." Soggy inched away as Thomas left the Container Yard to head towards Brendam Docks.

* * *

Salty was rather distracted as he shunted some trucks along the dockside.

"Why now? As soon as this comes up again, people start getting hurt! No, no, this has nothing to do with him…or does it? I-" A sharp blast of a whistle cut him out of his thoughts.

"Hello, Salty!" Thomas called as he rolled in with a train of containers, startling the dockside diesel.

"What are you doing down here, Thomas? I thought you were working in the Container Yard?" Thomas smiled.

"Just dropping off some trucks, Salty." Salty pondered for a moment, before grunting in resignation. He rolled over to shunt Thomas' trucks, but Thomas noticed his usual smile wasn't there.

"Salty? Are you alright?" The diesel didn't answer, and simply shunted Thomas' trucks away. The tank engine sighed, and was about to leave when he heard a conversation going on nearby the ferry pier.

"Skyler, for the last time, get out of shipping lanes!" Porter appeared to be shouting at the water.

"This is _way_ more important than shipping lanes, you dipstick! Sodor's in danger if I don't get an engine to help me crack down on the Buffman Bomber, so I suggest you either join me or find someone who will!" A mysterious Australian voice from below shouted back. Thomas was intrigued by this, and rolled over towards the ferry dock.

"We don't have time for your games, Skyler! We have work to do, and we can't go around hunting for terrorists! I'm going to leave that to the police and the military, and I suggest you do the same!" Porter whistled and reversed away, barely managing to avoid ramming into Thomas. As Porter rolled away, Thomas heard the voice again.

"Fine then, don't blame me when you blow up, you drongo!" Thomas heard the sound of whatever the voice was descending into the water. He rushed towards the end of the dock and called out.

"Wait! Come back!" Suddenly, Thomas saw the top of a snorkel emerging from the water, and, to his surprise, a little yellow submarine with swim goggles on followed it. She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, mate? Here to tell me off for 'being where I don't belong' too?" She snapped. Thomas looked apologetic.

"No, no, I want to help! I want to help catch the Buffman Bomber!" The submarine's eyes widened.

"Really? Bonzer!" She laughed to herself. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"If I can…what exactly would you need me to do?" The submarine fell serious.

"I was able to track the path of where that big old cannon was fired from where it hit that big orange bloke, but it's too far inland for me to follow it. I need an engine to follow the line up to where that cannon was fired so we can hopefully catch it, and that bomber too." Thomas looked excited for a moment, but fear slowly filled his face as he realized what that would entail.

"That sounds dangerous…"

"That it is, mate, but it's an offer you can't refuse if you want to keep Sodor safe." Thomas thought for a moment.

"Deal, erm…sorry, I don't know your name." The submarine smirked.

"Skyler."

"Thomas." The tank engine replied. Skyler the Submarine flashed a grin.

"Meet me by the River Maura tonight. The Bomber's as good as ours!" Thomas grinned determinedly.

"See you there." As Skyler dove underwater once more, Thomas rolled away from the docks to return to the Container Yard.

* * *

The Thomas-Skyler teamup has finally occurred! With Skyler by sea and Thomas on land, they're sure to uncover a few clues in the investigation to catch the Buffman Bomber! Sir Handel's plan has safety concerns, while Deltic has something he is refusing to share. The story only gets crazier from here folks!

Second of all, I'd like to make an apology for a lack of regular updates to this story as I promised. The "O" key on my laptop's keyboard has straight up stopped working, so it has somewhat removed my motivation to write when I have to press a key over and over just to make one letter show up. However, I now have downloaded an app that allows me to use my phone as a keyboard, so more updates should come very soon! I promise, for real this time!

Come back next time for the eighth chapter, _Fruitless Search,_ to see how Thomas and Skyler's investigation goes!


	8. Fruitless Search

Thomas returned to the Container Yard just as the sun was beginning to set, and he was just planning on dropping off his empty trucks and taking on water and coal before heading on his way. However, fate had other ideas.

"You're late. We're behind quota because of your negligence. We've a major yield loss today. Fix it." Deltic had rolled alongside Thomas and gave him a quick, blunt address (not looking at him) before heading on his way. Thomas frowned and began to chase after Deltic.

"Hey! Why don't you look at me?" Thomas shouted. Deltic braked to a halt. The silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Repeat that." He commanded, venom flooding his voice. Thomas, however, stood his ground.

"There's some reason that-"

"Nothing to see here, Mr. Deltic! We're heading back to work now!" Soggy very quickly began to push Thomas away from Deltic and towards the trucks waiting to be shunted. Deltic rolled his eyes, growled, and rumbled away. As soon as Deltic had left, Soggy braked to a halt.

"What do you think you're playing at? Stop starting fights with the boss!"

"But, Soggy, he-"

"We have work to do! There's a train due out of here tonight that I haven't even started to get ready, and the yard's a mess, and…" Soggy noticed that Thomas had left, charging out the front gates.

"…He's gone." Soggy finished, deadpan. He sighed, and began shunting the flatbeds into place for Curtis to load up. Thomas rolled along the line in front of the Container Yard, thinking to himself.

"I'm all cooped up in this yard…maybe I am just a nuisance…" He sighed and puffed towards the River Maura.

* * *

It was dark by the time Thomas reached the bank of the River Maura.

"Hello?" He whispered, but he received no reply. Suddenly, Thomas heard a bubbling noise and a furiously coughing Skyler emerged from the water.

"They've got to clean this thing up! Tastes like rust! Eugh!" She spat the river water from her mouth furiously. Thomas watched with confusion as Skyler calmed down. As soon as all the disgusting river water was out of her system, she saw Thomas looking at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you staring at, mate?" Thomas blushed awkwardly.

"Nothing." He muttered. Skyler rolled her eyes.

"Alright, mate, here's the deal-io. That cannon was fired by some part of the line in the cliffs up there, which means that wherever it was, there will be gunpowder." Thomas grinned.

"Great! I'll find that cannon before you know it!" However, before he could leave, Skyler interrupted him, following him along the bank.

"Not so fast, mate. In case you haven't noticed, you make smoke, and smoke can spark…gunpowder and sparks don't mix. Go slow, and keep your eyes on the track. Don't want you going up like a firework on New Years, now do we?" Skyler smirked. Thomas chuckled.

"Thank you, Skyler. I promise I'll be careful." Thomas slowly puffed away into the dark woods. Skyler's smirk turned to worry as her goggles slid back onto her eyes.

"Easier said than done, bloke…" She put her snorkel in her mouth, and descended into the water.

* * *

The woods were very dark. Thomas wouldn't admit it, but he felt rather scared. He scanned the twisted trees to see if any strange shapes were hiding behind them. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise echo through the trees.

"Gah!" Thomas yelped, but he realized it was only an owl. He shivered in annoyance and continued along his way, with only his lamp guiding him. Little did Thomas know that the points were set in all different directions, and he had no idea where he was or where he was going to end up. He looked along the sides of the rails, looking for any sign of a grey powder of any kind, but he saw nothing. He was just about ready to give up, when…

"Is that…a diesel?" Sure enough, the humming of a diesel engine was echoing in Thomas' ears. Slowly and as quietly as possible, Thomas crept towards the source of the humming.

"What is a diesel doing in these woods this late at night?" Thomas wondered, and he finally noticed a strange shape darting its eyes through the darkness. He inched closer, and suddenly saw another engine. The other engine jumped back in surprise.

"Gah!"

"Gah!"

"Gah!"

"Gah!" Finally Thomas and the other engine calmed down. It was only then that Thomas realized who exactly it was.

"Clive? What are you doing here? Don't they need you at the quarry? Why isn't your lamp on?" Clive turned red.

"Um, well, you see, I got…lost, yeah, lost. I was taking some stone trucks and I ended up in this forest. Of course, I wasn't paying attention! Silly me! Heh, heh…" Thas raised an eyebrow, before smiling.

"Well, I'm glad you're here, Clive! I was looking for the Buffman Bomber, but two engines should make it way easier than one to find him! Do you want to help me?" Clive began to sweat furiously.

"NO!" He shouted quickly, startling Thomas. Clive quickly cleared his throat.

"I mean, um, sorry, Thomas, but I really should get home to the quarry. I think I saw something in that part of the woods, though." His glance darted towards another part of the forest. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alright, Clive? You seem a little on edge." Clive grinned nervously.

"Nothing's wrong, Thomas! Come on then, you better find that Buffman Bomber! Off you pop!" Clive gestured frantically with his eyes down the line he wanted Thomas to go down. Thomas raised an eyebrow and headed on his way.

"Funny diesel…" He muttered. As soon as he was out of sight, Clive let out a sigh of relief, and looked back into the brush.

"Coast is clear!" He hissed quietly, and sure enough, Paxton, Sidney, and the Buffman Bomber emerged slowly, with their frequent cargo of Gün Dora between them. The Buffman Bomber smirked.

"Onward, boys." He rolled onwards, expecting the diesels to follow him, but they didn't. He looked back, and saw Clive looking up at a sniffling Dora.

"Are you coming?" He called in his raspy voice. Clive sighed and shared a glance with a sympathetic Paxton before moving onwards after the Bomber.

* * *

The quartet moved through the woods, trying to avoid being noticed at all costs. Clive was very preoccupied with comforting Dora, and as a result was rather startled when he heard the Bomber stop.

"Why did we stop?" Sidney asked from the back. Clive and Paxton looked up ahead and saw their employer staring at a large gate sitting in the midst of a barbed wire fence.

"Are we going back another way?" Paxton called, but the Bomber smirked. As he rolled slowly forwards, Clive and Paxton could now see that the gate read "Buffman Global – Authorized Personnel Only". The two diesels shared a confused glance as the Bomber came to a stop. His driver hopped down, pushing the tarpaulin aside, holding a key with the Buffman Global logo hanging off on a keychain. Sure enough, the key unlocked the gates, and the Bomber rolled through the now open gates.

"Come on." He grunted, and the diesels and cannon were forced to follow him.

* * *

Soggy was quietly shunting container trucks into place for Curtis to load up. He looked around the yard after shunting a truck into its place under Curtis.

"Sure is quiet around here without Thomas…or Deltic for that matter. Where is everybody?" Soggy and Curtis were alone. Soggy resorted to watching a Buffman ship passing through Kirk Ronan Harbour. Curtis chuckled as he lowered a container onto one of the trucks.

"I know where they are." Soggy rolled his eyes.

"No, you don't, you lying s-" Suddenly, the two heard a loud "BANG" and winced at the loud noise.

"That's not a good noise." Soggy remarked. However, he got no response, as Curtis was simply staring into the bay with shock and horror. Two workmen were walking alongside and noticed Curtis' horrified stare.

"Something wrong, Curtis?" Curtis began to blabber.

"Th-the _ship!_ It's on f-f-fire!" He stuttered. The two workmen looked at each other and laughed.

"Nice try, buddy." One replied. However, Soggy had turned around on the turntable and gasped.

"Um…he's not lying." He called. Sure enough, in the harbour was the ship, which had began to list as flames erupted from her hull. Soggy raced away.

"Call the Search and Rescue Center!" He cried.

* * *

Thomas was in a particularly dark part of the woods when he heard the explosion as well.

"Oh no! I'm too late!" He frantically sped up to try and find the source of the explosion, but the woods were like a maze.

"Whoa!" Thomas swerved around a bend and across some points. He had no idea whether he was getting any closer to finding the Buffman Bomber, but he just kept moving forwards, being whipped around bends in the darkness.

"I'm getting dizzy…" He muttered after taking a particularly sharp bend. Finally, he saw a light at the end of some trees.

"Finally!" Thomas raced forwards, preparing to finally catch the Buffman Bomber, but when he finally popp"ed out of the woods, he groaned at the sight he saw.

"Hey, dude!" Colin called from his spot on the Wharf. Thomas grimaced.

"Hello, Colin." Colin, however, seemed ignorant to Thomas' worries.

"You hear that loud bang, man? Whatever it is that made that noise must be _pretty_ big!" Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"But it didn't come from here?" He asked desperately. Colin winced awkwardly.

"Nope. Sorry, dude. Do you know what it was?" Thomas sighed.

"Gün Dora. I've got to find Skyler and tell her I was too late. This was just one big fruitless search." Thomas began reversing back into the woods. Colin coughed awkwardly as Thomas disappeared into the darkness.

"You need a hobby, dude." He muttered to himself.

* * *

Paxton sprinted along the line leading up to the Dieselworks. His eyes darted up and down the line.

"Just have to get to the Dieselworks…just have to get to-GAH!" Paxton gasped as he saw Norman rolling along with the line with some trucks on the opposite direction.

"Get back! Get back!" He hissed, and Clive, Sidney, and the Buffman Bomber frantically reversed into the brush with Gün Dora as Norman rolled by. Norman noticed Paxton's oddly wide grin as he passed, but chose not to comment on it and continued on his way. Paxton rolled gently forwards, and the four engines and enormous cannon continued their slow journey. Suddenly, Paxton braked to a halt again, just as the gates of the Dieselworks came into view.

"What now?" The Bomber growled furiously. Paxton winced.

"We can't go in there." He hissed. Sure enough, hanging about, in the gates of the Dieselworks, were Diesel, 'Arry, and Bert, who seemed to be in the midst of raucous conversation.

"…So then I said 'two goody-goody tattletales like you, I suppose'!" Diesel cackled, and 'Arry and Bert laughed along with him. Paxton hissed back at the Bomber.

"If we go in, we'll get caught!" The Bomber growled.

"We have a cannon, just blow them up!" He snapped. Dora stifled a sob and Clive glared at the hooded engine. Suddenly, he got an idea.

"We can hide Dora in the quarry! No one ever goes up there!" Sidney raised an eyebrow at the back of the train.

"Clive, isn't the quarry on the other side of the-"

"Yes, it's a long journey, but it's the best option." The Bomber considered for a moment and then growled.

"Fine, let's go." The train began reversing towards the quarry. Clive could feel Dora's terror in the shaking of her coupling.

"Easy, Dora, I'll keep you safe…" Clive wasn't sure if he was lying or not.

* * *

As the diesel and cannon cavalcade scuttled along the line, they suddenly heard a whistle as they approached a bend.

"That's Gordon, with the evening express!" Sidney cried. The Bomber scowled.

"Well, don't just sit there, you stupid twits! DO SOMETHING!" Clive, however, refused to move as the pounding of the rails got louder and louder. The Bomber glared.

"A wise guy? Well, in my world, wise guys get the _boot_!" He rammed into Gün Dora, jerking Clive forwards, and getting the train moving. The four engines managed to move Dora onto a siding just as Gordon thundered by.

"Express coming through!" As soon as Gordon had passed, the Bomber grunted.

"Quarry. Now." The train continued along its way, managing to avoid detection the whole way.

* * *

Salty sat nervously in the sheds nearby the Sodor Shipping Company. He looked utterly miserable and lost in deep depressing thoughts. Cranky looked around the Docks before looking down at him.

"That's it, Salty. No more moping around, you are telling me what is going on with you right now." He snapped. Salty looked up at him.

"Just leave me alone, Cranky."

"Well you need to tell-"

"I have _nothing to say._ " Salty replied. There was a brief moment of silence, before Cranky snorted.

"For all the twenty years I've known you, Salty, you've _never_ had 'nothing to say'." He smirked, but sadness remained in his eyes.

"Pity it comes at a time where I need you the most." He chuckled. Salty raised an eyebrow.

" _You_ need _me?_ " The crane sighed, before turning out to face the sea.

"How do you do it, Salty? When the world's collapsing around you, how do you keep smiling? The engines are all scared about this 'Buffman Bomber' guy, Salty. Porter's scared…I'm scared. I wish I could have your optimism, instead of just being a jaded, cranky old crane who's bound to blow up sooner or later." Salty looked up at his friend, seeing a tear drip down his cheek and hit a puddle on the dockside after falling down his mighty structure. Salty sighed.

"I…I'll tell you and Porter everything tomorrow." Cranky smiled.

"That's the Salty I know."

"Not tonight. I…I need to sleep on it first." Cranky rolled his eyes and returned to his natural scowl.

"Take your time; not like I have anywhere to go." Salty rolled farther into the shed and shut his eyes, trying to come to terms with what he had to tell his friends.

* * *

Another chapter! Lots of new info this new chapter that I'm just going to let sink in! One thing to highlight: the Buffman Bomber somehow has access to Buffman facilities! What could this mean? How will the three diesels and the Bomber fare in the quarry? How will Salty explain his past? How will Thomas and Skyler solve the mystery? Find out in our next, ninth chapter: _Vendetta!_


	9. Vendetta

It was getting extremely dark by the time Clive, Paxton, Sidney, and the Buffman Bomber pulled into the Ffarquhar Quarry with Dora in tow. Mavis sat in the shed, fast asleep, and Clive looked back to the others before giving them the signal to sneak past.

"Come on!" The large cannon began to slowly glide across the quarry, undetected. The four engines finally managed to shift Dora into a set of sidings, where she was hidden from view by the large rock faces around her. Clive sat at the front of the train, stone-faced, until the Buffman Bomber rolled alongside.

"You're on thin ice. If any of you get caught with the cannon-"

"Her name is Dora." Clive replied, his gaze not shifting from straight ahead. The Bomber scoffed.

"Stand guard, mate." He rolled away into the night, leaving the three diesels behind with Dora. As soon as he had disappeared, Dora finally broke down.

"I let him do it _again!_ It's all my fault!" She sobbed.

"Dora, it's not your fault..." Paxton tried to start comforting her, but couldn't think of anything to say. He shared a sympathetic glance with Sidney, but no one looked more concerned than Clive, who was having as much trouble finding words as Paxton. Dora's sobbing grew weaker, and her eyes were red with tears by the time she managed to form coherent words.

"I'm a _monster…_ " She whimpered.

"No, you're not!" Clive replied, surprising even himself. Dora's eyes widened, before she began sniffling again.

"But-"

"Dora, I think you should get some sleep. You're exhausted." Dora raised an eyebrow.

"How on earth do you expect me to sleep vhen all these bad things are going through my brain?" Clive tried to think of something, before his eyes lit up.

"I know! There's a song that Mavis sings to the trucks whenever they can't sleep! How does it go again? Um…" Clive's eyes lit up as Dora quietly sobbed, and he began to faintly sing.

" _La la hush-a-bye, la la hush-a-bye, la la hush-a-bye, la la la…_ " He looked hastily around the quarry, trying to make up words to the tranquil melody.

" _Rocks, far above_

 _Stone all around_

 _You can look up real high, at the stars in the sky_

 _While you're sleeping on the ground_ " Dora had noticed Clive beginning to sing and began to tune into it, as did Paxton and Sidney. Clive continued to sing.

 _Sleep, it will come_

 _If you just close your eyes_

 _I swear that it's true that nothing will harm you_

 _Now let your dreams disguise_

 _Your pain, your sorrow_

 _Your ever-present fear_

 _I won't let anyone hurt you_

 _Not while I stand here!_ " Dora looked down to Clive, and gave a weak smile behind her wet eyes. Paxton smiled when he saw this, but yawned due to Clive's calming song. Sidney had already passed out and begun to snore. Clive had gotten the hang of the song now, and began to peacefully sing the next verse.

" _Let the dust, be your blanket_

 _The rocks pillows, the rubble sheets_

 _Now end this day's arc, let the work grow dark_

 _As the comforting sound repeats_." Paxton had fallen asleep by this point too, but while Dora yawned, she remained awake and sadness still filled her eyes. Clive looked up at his friend.

" _Look at the moon_

 _Say goodbye to the stars_

 _Let the shroud of night, feel healing and right_

 _As you heal your deep, deep scars_ " Dora yawned again and finally went to sleep. Clive looked at Dora, along with the snoozing Paxton and Sidney, and smiled. A tear rolled down his face as he looked up at the rail cannon, who managed to sleep peacefully.

" _No one can hurt you, new friend_

 _I swear I'll bring this violence to an end_

 _You won't return to a battleground_

 _Not while I'm around_

 _Dora, no one will hurt you, I swear_

 _If anyone tries, I'll look 'em straight in the eyes, and see if they even dare!_ " Clive looked defiantly up at the stars, before looking straight at Dora. She stirred briefly, before subsiding to her rest. Clive sniffled before singing again, even more quietly and gingerly than before.

" _Sleep, you are safe_

 _Nothing here but rocks and sky_

 _Though we're surrounded by stone_

 _With me, you aren't alone_

 _As I sing this Quarry Lullaby_

 _La-la-hush-a-bye, la-la-hush-a-bye, la-la-hush-a-bye, la-la-la..._ " The air was silent, and Clive yawned before shutting his eyes. However, he couldn't sleep, as he was too uneasy. His eyes popped open and he looked to Paxton and Sidney, sleeping like babies.

"Psst! Paxton! Sidney!" He whispered sharply, careful not to wake Dora up. The two diesels snorted awake.

"Hmm?" Paxton yawned as his eyes opened. He was about to say something, but Clive shushed him. He looked at the other two diesels with an extremely grave expression on his face.

"We can't let him do anymore damage. People are going to get hurt if we don't do something." Sidney spoke up.

"But he'll blow us up!" Clive shushed him.

"If that's what it takes, that's what we'll have to do." Paxton and Sidney shared a grave glance, before grunting in agreement. If that's what it took, it's what they would do.

* * *

Thomas made his way back from the Wharf to meet Skyler under the cover of darkness. He was tired, dirty, and frustrated.

"Botheration! I can't find anything in these stupid woods! I am-" Thomas suddenly braked to a halt as he heard a noise. He sat in complete silence, listening to a noise that sounded like…

"Squeaking?" The tank engine whispered to himself in confusion. Quietly, he made his way towards the noise, until he came out from the trees and saw a pair of gates, swinging open in the wind and making the aforementioned squeaking noise. He raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" He rolled uneasily towards the gates, and recognized a familiar logo on them.

"That's the Buffman Global logo! What is it doing here?" Thomas looked around the area inside the gates, looking over the sea. Suddenly he smelt something.

"Is that…gunpowder?" Thomas hastily backed up as to not cause any sparks, but he could clearly smell the gunpowder in the air. His eyes narrowed.

"The bomber's been here." He looked around for any clues, but couldn't find anything. However, the gate continued to squeak, and Thomas backed up to inspect it.

"The lock's not damaged." He realized, looking at the intact gate. Finally, the sign came into just enough moonlight for Thomas to see the "Authorized Personnel" on the sign.

"The Bomber had a key." Thomas said quietly, and quickly sped away to find Skyler.

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Skyler! Not a scratch on it! He had a key!"

"Who other than a Buffman employee would have a key, mate?" Thomas had met Skyler back at the river, and had told her of his encounter with the gate. The submarine pondered for a moment.

"Maybe the Buffman Bomber _used_ to be an employee?" Skyler suggested. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Skyler rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed at Thomas not getting it.

"Some hoon who used to work there, but doesn't now, could very easily have a vendetta against the company! Know anyone who used to work there, Thomas?" The submarine looked up at Thomas, who thought for a moment. The tank engine's eyes widened in horror as he came to a conclusion.

"No…"

"What?"

"I know one former Buffman employee, but there's no way it could be him! I've known him for so long and-"

"It's our only lead, Thomas." Skyler said gravely. Thomas collected himself and sighed.

"Salty. The only engine I can think of is Salty." Skyler raised an eyebrow in surprise, before becoming serious.

"Well, then. Have to start looking somewhere, eh? We'll go in the morning." She prepared to dive into the river again before looking at Thomas.

"Thomas?"

"Yes?" The tank engine asked, clearly conflicted. Skyler gave a small smile.

"You did good tonight, mate." Thomas tried to smile back, but was clearly bothered. Skyler sighed and dove underwater as Thomas began to return to the Container Yard.

* * *

I know it's a short chapter to come back on, but I'm back! A song in the form of "Quarry Lullaby" which was a super nice way to show how genuinely supportive Clive is as a character and how much he's grown. Thomas and Skyler also have figured out that the Buffman Bomber once worked for the company he is now out to destroy, and are off to figure out if it's Salty. How will Salty deal this? What is the Buffman Bomber's next move? Will Salty tell Cranky and Porter about his past? Find out in the emotional tenth chapter; "The Road Doesn't Go on Forever"!


	10. The Road Doesn't Go On Forever

The sun had finally risen on Sodor, and the engines were getting ready for another day. Sir Handel was due to be the first narrow gauge engine out, and was getting his fire lit when he heard a familiar call in the distance.

"Hup, two, three, four!" At that moment, a police siren rang out and Roy the Police Buggy drove up, the Chief of Police and Detective Miles Regan stepping out onto the station platform. Just as they had walked out, the familiar diesel cavalcade holding Beetle on a flatbed arrived, Captain Bridges stepping out of the cab of the closest one to the platform. Finally, the Fat Controller arrived in Winston and stepped out onto the platform. He had a grave expression on his face.

"Gentlemen, we have much to discuss." The four men began to talk on the platform, piquing Sir Handel's interest. He looked back to his driver, who had finally gotten his fire burning.

"Driver? Can we shunt my coaches now?" The driver was shocked to hear Sir Handel willingly associating with the coaches, but simply shrugged and he and the fireman climbed aboard. Sir Handel dashed towards the coaches, banging into Agnes with a loud bump, waking the other engines up.

"Huh?" Peter Sam's eyes popped open, being the closest to the coaches, and was shocked to see Sir Handel at the head of the coaches.

"Sir Handel?" He muttered in suspicion.

"Can't an old coach get her beauty sleep?" Agnes lamented. Sir Handel tugged the coaches as fast as he could to the station, causing them to scream behind him until he rolled into the platform with brakes screeching. However, the men didn't seem to notice his arrival.

"We cannot allow this 'Buffman Bomber' to continue his dangerous actions any longer! Surely, in all his attacks, we have to have discovered _something_ to help us find him!" The Fat Controller paced on the platform, frustrated. Captain Bridges frowned.

"Believe us, Sir Topham, if we could find any leads, we would 100% run with them, but this 'Bomber' leaves no trace! The only thing we can look for is Gün Dora's gunpowder, but that doesn't give any indication of what he's going to do next!" Sir Handel whistled innocently as he sidled closer to the platform.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but I think I know a way we could bait our Buffman Bomber into the open…" He called, causing everyone on the platform to look towards him.

"Yes, what is it, Sir Handel?" Beetle raised an eyebrow from his flatbed. Sir Handel grinned.

"Well, everywhere Buffman Global has been sending ships out of has been surrounded by hills, so the Bomber has always had a vantage point for blowing up the ships. However, if we launched an empty ship out of, say, the _Wharf_ , then…"

"He'd have to come out into the open to attack it!" Beetle finished, with a wide-eyed expression on his face. The Fat Controller smiled gratefully at Sir Handel.

"Thank you, Sir Handel, I'll tell Mr. Percival about your plan." Sir Handel grinned.

"Don't mention it, sir!" He smarmed.

"Now, Captain Bridges, I-" As the Fat Controller began to plan with the others, and Beetle was craned onto the narrow gauge rails, Sir Handel was surprised by another whistle, and Peter Sam rolled alongside.

"Sir Handel, what's going on?" He asked, but Sir Handel seemed to be smirking in his own little world. Finally, he snapped out of it and called across the yard to Skarloey.

"Hey, Skarloey, can you take my morning train?" He called to the groggy little engine in the sheds.

"Eh?"

"Thank you! Now come on, Peter Sam, we better go to the Wharf!" Sir Handel was uncoupled from his coaches, and began racing towards the Wharf. However, Peter Sam raced in front of him and rolled to a stop, causing Sir Handel to slam his brakes on.

"What's the big idea, Peter Sam?"

"Sir Handel, I don't think this is safe! What if we-" Peter Sam was interrupted by a loud blast of Beetle's horn.

"Alright lads, see you all at the Wharf! 'Operation: Bomber Bait' is going ahead! Remember your positions!"

"SIR, YES, SIR!" The military diesels shouted back, and the military began moving towards the wharf. Peter Sam was about to speak again, but Sir Handel had already rushed past to follow them. Peter Sam looked back for a moment, before groaning and following behind him.

* * *

Thomas was exhausted as he returned to the Container Yard that morning. He hadn't slept, and was travelling rather slowly to give himself a rest. The Search and Rescue team had left, but the yard still seemed rather ashy and singed. However, as he rolled into the Container Yard, his eyes fluttered shut and he wasn't looking where he was going.

"Look out, Thomas!" A voice rang out, and Thomas' eyes popped open just in time for him to bang into a line of trucks that shot forwards until they hit the buffers with a dull "bump". Thomas groaned, and yawned again, and was very irritated to see Deltic roll alongside.

"Why weren't you looking where you were going? You could have damaged valuable company property!" Deltic snapped, avoiding Thomas' eye contact once again.

"I barely slept." Thomas yawned in reply, and defiantly tried to stare the diesel right in the eyes, causing Deltic to repeatedly avert his gaze. Finally, Deltic began rolling away, fed up.

"You Sudrians are opening up a whole new bag of snakes for us…just wait until I address this with corporate! The hiring committee's gone to the dogs…" He muttered. Thomas raised an eyebrow at this remark, but simply began backing away to shunt the trucks for the container train due out.

"You look like you've been to the Other Railway and back!" Soggy quipped as Thomas pulled some container trucks past him to put into place. However, before he could hear Thomas' response, the little engine had already left. Soggy raised an eyebrow.

"Wonder where he's off to…" The shunting tractor muttered.

* * *

Back at Brendam Docks, Salty was rather shaken after the previous evening's attack. Porter raised an eyebrow at Cranky as the dockside diesel rolled uneasily and slowly along the dockside.

"I thought you said he agreed to tell us what's been bothering him?" He whispered up to the big crane.

"I'm sure he'll tell us when he's ready." Cranky replied firmly. However, before their conversation could continue, they heard two sharp blasts of a whistle and Thomas sped into the dockside, with a determined expression on his face and bags under his eyes.

"Salty! I need to speak to you!" He called. Cranky raised an eyebrow and looked down at Porter. Thomas' request seemed to cause Salty to stop, and the dockside diesel looked to the tank engine as he rolled alongside.

"What is it, Thomas?" He asked as politely as possible.

"Salty, why did you leave Buffman Global?" Thomas asked. Salty promptly rolled away before Thomas had even noticed. The tank engine tried to follow alongside as Salty tried to get away, but the diesel was going too fast.

"Salty! Come back!"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Salty called, but the tank engine was determined and sped up. As the two engines zipped around the dockside, Thomas tried to call out to Salty.

"Salty, the Buffman Bomber is a former or current Buffman employee! He had a key to get into an authorized area!" Thomas called, as he chased Salty around BoCo's incoming goods train. The big diesel honked as Thomas whipped in front of him.

"Sorry!" Thomas called back, and tried to speed up, but Salty was too far ahead.

"That is a part of my life that I don't want to think about!" The diesel called back, but Thomas determinedly sped onwards. Soon enough, they were doing a full loop of the dockside.

"Salty, I really don't want to think that it's you-"

"Go away!"

"-But, the Bomber had a key-"

"I do _not_ want to talk about it!"

"You clearly have a reason that you don't like the company, and Skyler suggested that maybe the Bomber has a vendetta-"

"You're listening to the ruddy submarine? Why won't you just leave me alone?" Salty sped onwards, back around towards where Cranky and Porter were still waiting.

"Salty, I-"

"I've been seeing you in my nightmares for _twenty years,_ JUNIOR, I-" Suddenly, a loud "SLAM" sounded out, and Salty was shocked to see a heavy crate on the line in front of him, braking to a stop quickly. He looked up to see Cranky glaring down at him, and Thomas rolled up behind Salty. The diesel couldn't maintain his composure anymore, and simply began to cry. Thomas hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Soggy called me Junior too…who is Junior, Salty?" Salty took a single shaky breath as Cranky lifted the heavy crate out of the way and assumed a more sympathetic expression. The diesel looked to Porter, who had an extremely concerned expression on his face. Salty sighed, and began explaining his story.

"Junior is an engine that Soggy and I used to work with back when we worked together at Buffman Global. We were a true team, the three of us. We worked together for a while, but one night, I decided to fake being sick in order to get out of late night work. Junior went out instead, and when he went onto the main line, he…he didn't make it back. A passing train hit him and he was damaged beyond repair. I tried to keep working there, but Soggy and I just couldn't be near each other after the…incident. I left Buffman Global and came to Sodor to escape that guilt, and I don't think I can ever associate with them again without thinking of him." Cranky cleared his throat from above.

"Thomas, Salty has been here during every attack; there is no possible way that he is the Buffman Bomber."

"I know." Thomas replied, gravely. A silence hung over the dockside, with nothing but the sounds of the gulls in the air. Finally, Thomas spoke up.

"Salty, I'm so sorry…I never knew."

"None of us did." Porter said, looking sympathetically at his friend. Thomas assumed a determined expression.

"I know it's hard for you, but Skyler and I could use your help, as a former Buffman employee, in this investigation. If you don't think you're ready, that's alright, but we'll be here if you are." Suddenly, a bubbling noise emerged from nearby the dockside and the top of a snorkel popped out of the water.

"Sorry I'm late, my snorkel was being bleedin' cactus, I-"

"He's not the Bomber, Skyler." Thomas said, cutting her off. Skyler very quickly read the room, and her face fell.

"Right. Well, guess we'll have to try looking at it from a different angle then. Come on, Thomas!" Skyler went back underwater again. Thomas began backing out of the docks, but he stopped after travelling a few feet.

"Salty, I'm going to find the Bomber and keep Sodor safe, no matter what. I promise. What happened with Junior is not your fault." Salty smiled weakly at Thomas.

"Thank you, lad." Thomas rolled away from the docks.

"I wish you weren't lying." The dockside diesel chuckled sadly. Suddenly, he heard steam hissing, and Porter rolled alongside.

"That's a lot to bottle up for twenty years." Porter remarked, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work. The viridian engine sighed.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" He asked, quietly. Salty looked at him, with misty eyes, before sighing.

"I hoped that I could just keep running from it." He replied. Porter looked up at Cranky, who simply stood in silence, before speaking again.

"Twenty years is a long time to run, Salty. Maybe it's time that you stop running, and start confronting your past. You've been running for a long time, but the road doesn't go on forever." Before Porter could speak again, Cranky tapped his cab with his hook; he had said enough. Porter sighed and rolled away, leaving Cranky to look down at Salty, who simply stood, stunned and alone, in the middle of the dockside. He had a lot to think about.

* * *

Back with another emotionally hard-hitting chapter. We've gotten updates from three of our four major plots, and I have to say that I enjoyed writing this chapter far more than I initially anticipated I would. Thomas chasing Salty around the dockside was not a sequence I initially planned, but I think it added a lot to a scene that would have mostly been sitting around and talking were it not for that. Salty has now told Porter, Cranky, and Thomas about his past, and now has received an offer to help Thomas and Skyler take the Buffman Bomber down. Will he take it? Will the Buffman Bomber take the bait laid out by the military at the Wharf? Will Sir Handel become rich? Find out in the eleventh chapter, "Millard Buffman Must Die", which I promise will come out way faster now that I'm motivated to write again!


	11. Millard Buffman Must Die

"Well, now what?" Skyler asked, annoyed. Thomas sighed. The two had stopped by the river nearby the Container Yard, and were discussing their next move.

"I don't know. Salty is the only former Buffman employee we know for sure is on Sodor, and it definitely isn't him. Maybe there's a record somewhere?" He groaned and looked down in worry.

"Maybe if it isn't a former employee, it's a current one?" Skyler suggested. Thomas' eyes widened as memories began to flood his brain.

" _Great, a steamer. Just what I need."_

" _Why won't you look at me?_ "

" _Get back to work!"_

" _The hiring committee's gone to the dogs…_ "

"A current employee…" He pondered, before beginning to back away to return to the Container Yard. Skyler raised an eyebrow before calling out.

"Where are you going?"

"I think I have a lead! Try and find other information around, Skyler; I'm off to the Container Yard!" The tank engine replied, before whipping around a bend near some trees. Skyler watched in disbelief as the tank engine disappeared.

"You think you could let me _in_ on it?" She snapped, but he was far out of sight. She rolled her eyes as her goggles slid back on.

"We're 'partners' but he treats me like a ruddy offsider…cheeky little pommie…" She muttered before taking a deep breath and going underwater.

* * *

Thomas puffed into the Container Yard just as the sky had begun to grow overcast and murky. He whistled loudly as he pulled under Curtis' gantry track, as the large crane was unloading some containers from a freshly delivered line of trucks.

"Curtis, do you know where Deltic is? I need to speak to him!" He called up. Curtis sat, thinking.

"…Yes." Thomas groaned.

"Why do I even bother?" He raced further into the yard, where he was directed onto a siding and very nearly collided with a line of trucks. He slammed his brakes on and screeched to an abrupt halt.

"Easy, Thomas! What's the rush?" Soggy asked as he rolled alongside Thomas, who was reversing away from the containers.

"Soggy, do you know where Deltic is?"

"He got called to the Wharf on official business from Mr. Buffman, why?" Thomas began to speed away as soon as he heard this.

"Thomas, wait! What's going on?" Soggy tried to follow Thomas, but the tank engine had already quickly gone to the turntable, turned himself around, and began speeding away. However, before he had left the gates of the yard, he stopped for a moment.

"Soggy?"

"Yes?"

"…Please, be safe." With that, Thomas determinedly steamed away towards the Wharf, causing Soggy and Curtis to exchange confused, nervous looks.

* * *

Thomas approached the Wharf as quietly as he could. The outskirts of the area were teeming with military diesels, and Thomas had to be careful to get past them and into the Wharf. He hid behind some bushes just as a pair of diesel shunters approached, waiting with bated breath until they passed. Finally, he pulled out of the bushes and onto a siding inside one of the Wharf's sheds, where he saw a rather peculiar group gathered.

"What are they talking about?" He muttered to himself and tried to get closer. There was Deltic, sitting stoically with a coach, along with the Fat Controller, Beetle, Captain Bridges, and several other men in suits. However, the one speaking was a man in a white suit, who Thomas recognized as…

"Millard Buffman!" He gasped under his breath, before beginning to listen in.

"…This involves _my_ company, Captain! I would like to see this so-called 'Buffman' bomber stopped myself!"

"Mr. Buffman, we assure you that every detail of the operation will be transmitted to you as it occurs." Beetle assured him, but Mr. Buffman stepped indignantly towards the little engine.

"My father built this company with his bare hands, and he always was there to make sure _everything_ involving the company went smoothly. I simply don't feel comfortable not having a set of eyes and ears here!" Beetle gave a frantic glance to the Fat Controller and Captain Bridges, signaling them to step in. The Fat Controller put a hand on Mr. Buffman's shoulder.

"Millard, it isn't that we think you'd get in the way-" He began, but Captain Bridges cut him off.

"If the Bomber intends to harm your company, he may make an attempt on your life, and having you here is a liability. Mr. Buffman, we must insist you leave for own safety." Mr. Buffman paused for a moment, before scoffing.

"Nothing of the sort! I want to see the criminal who has been putting my employees, and my _money,_ in danger, locked up myself! In fact…Deltic!"

"Yes, Mr. Buffman?" Deltic asked, clearly not amused with his employer's stubbornness.

"Can you take us right back to London as soon as we've captured this Bomber fellow?" Deltic rolled his eyes.

"If I can get a road, sir." He replied. Mr. Buffman grinned.

"Atta boy, Deltic! You should refuel, you'll have a long journey ahead of you!" Deltic grunted, and began rolling away towards a fuel tank in another part of the Wharf, leaving Mr. Buffman to squabble with the military. Thomas watched him go, before looking around for any military diesels. There were none.

"Here goes…" He muttered, and, as slowly and quietly as he could, he followed after the big diesel.

* * *

Beetle had left the conversation with Mr. Buffman, and was doing a last patrol of the Wharf to see if everything was in place. As he approached Colin, he was surprised to see Sir Handel and Peter Sam hanging around near the crane.

"Hello, you two." He greeted them politely. Peter Sam smiled.

"Hello, Beetle!" Beetle smiled before speaking again.

"We really do appreciate you suggesting we use the Wharf as a trap, Sir Handel. If all goes well, we'll be able to catch the Bomber without a lot of collateral." Sir Handel smirked smugly.

"Was nothing, really." Beetle's smile turned to a grave frown.

"However, the operation will still be highly dangerous, so I suggest you two leave. Colin, I would say the same to you, but-"

"No prob, dude, I can chill. Perfectly happy to just _go_ with the _flow_." Colin chuckled. Beetle looked at the two engines before hooting his horn in salute.

"Be safe." He began rolling away, and Peter Sam began to back up as well.

"You heard him, Sir Handel, we better get going." No response, Peter Sam looked forwards to see that the little engine hadn't moved.

"Sir Handel?" No response.

"Sir Handel?" Colin looked back from a departing Peter Sam and looked back at Sir Handel, who was glaring at where Beetle had been.

"It's rude to not respond when someone calls your name, man." He whispered, but Sir Handel suddenly shot back like a rocket and banged into Peter Sam, shunting him towards a goods shed. Peter Sam gasped as they rolled nearby the gunpowder trucks.

"Sir Handel, what are you doing?" Sir Handel chuckled darkly.

"I did not spend _days_ booby-trapping this place with crates and trucks just for some little bug to take all the glory! If that little beetle thinks he can make off with my reward, oh, he's going to be sorry!" Peter Sam looked concernedly at Colin, who shrugged his crane arm. The little engine sighed.

"So what are we doing then?" He asked, hoping he wouldn't get what he expected. He did.

"We hide in this shed until the Bomber shows up, we capture him, and then _I_ get _rich!_ " Sir Handel cackled quietly to himself, causing Peter Sam to worriedly glance at the grey sky.

* * *

Salty was still at the docks, thinking about what Thomas had said. Cranky was keeping an eye on him, but didn't try to make conversation. He didn't want to overload him. Suddenly, Edward's whistle sounded out, and the blue engine rolled into the docks with a train of trucks.

"Hello, all!" He called cheerfully, but very quickly read the somber mood of the docks and frowned.

"Oh, dear. A bit melancholy around here, isn't it?" He remarked to Cranky, who looked away from Salty.

"Yeah, we know. Why, you've heard good news?" He grunted as he began to unload the trucks. Edward thought for a moment.

"Well, I wouldn't call it _good_ news, but they're trying to launch a Buffman ship out of the Wharf tonight because they think it's a safer port." Cranky hastily shushed the blue engine, who stopped in surprise.

"What?"

"Don't say the _B-word_ in front of…Salty!?" Cranky had looked up from Edward to see Salty bolting away from the Docks. The diesel tore past Porter, who gasped in surprise.

"Salty? What are you doing?"

"Going to the wharf!" With that, he disappeared into the distance, much to Porter, Cranky, and especially a confused Edward's concern.

* * *

Salty tore along the Main Line as fast as his wheels could carry him. Thunder had begun to sound out and rain was clearly on the way, but for now the rails were dry and he was feeling an adrenaline rush.

"Come on…faster! Faster!" He growled, as he rounded a bend. Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright light and slammed his brakes on.

"AGH!" He screeched to a halt and lightly bumped buffers with another engine.

"Oh…sorry, Salty!" Clive switched his lamp off. Salty sighed, as he saw the bigger shunter, along with Paxton and Sidney, in front of him.

"Wrong-roading again, Clive?" He chuckled, but then noticed dark bags under all three diesels' eyes.

"Are you all alright? You look like you haven't slept!" A pang of fear flashed across Clive's face, but he quickly yawned to cover it up.

"Late work. Nothing to worry about. Where are you off to?" He asked. If Salty hadn't been focusing solely on getting to the Wharf, he could have easily figured out Clive was lying.

"The Wharf. They're launching a Buffman ship out of there, and wherever there's a ship, the Bomber shows up. I've got to stop him." With that, Salty reversed to a nearby set of points, and went on the line around the three diesels before continuing to speed on his way. The three diesels he left behind, however, all looked at each other in panic.

"Do you think _he_ knows about that?" Paxton asked, terrified. Clive shuddered in fear.

"We can't let him find out. We have to get back to the quarry." The three diesels sped away back where they had hidden Dora.

* * *

The three diesels slid silently into the back part of the quarry, where they heard a familiar sniffling.

"Oh no…Dora…" Clive rolled over to her siding, and sure enough found the rail cannon crying. She looked up, her eyes red, and smiled weakly at the three diesels.

"Oh, it's you! I heard someone coming and thought it vas _him_." She whispered hoarsely. Clive smiled.

"Yes, it's us. We're going to keep you safe tonight, we promise." Dora raised an eyebrow as tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

"How do you know?"

"There's a Buffman ship being sent out of an alternate port tonight, but he can't possibly get to it because he _doesn't know about it!_ We're not going to tell him either, and-" Clive was interrupted by Dora's shrill scream and something strong bashing against his rear bufferbeam. Sure enough, it was the Bomber, who one could tell was red in the face even under his hood.

"You WHAT!?" The hooded engine growled furiously, having cornered them on the line where they hid Gün Dora. Clive was still dizzy, but Paxton and Sidney were cowering in fear. The Bomber breathed heavily and angrily for a few seconds, before taking a deep breath and speaking through gritted teeth.

"Well, now I know. We're going to the 'wharf'. Come on." He began moving towards Dora, but Clive remained still.

"No." The Bomber paused.

"What?"

"You're not going to hurt anybody else! I won't let you!" Clive hissed, rolling back towards the Bomber. Paxton rolled slowly alongside him.

"I won't either!"

"Nor me!" Sidney added, joining the other two diesels in staring the Buffman Bomber defiantly down. The Bomber paused for a moment.

"You idiots think I won't just blow you up?" He snarled. The three diesels faltered, but stood their ground.

"You're not even going to be able to get Dora _into_ the Wharf!" Sidney taunted.

"Yeah, there are no cliffs nearby, which means you'd have to go on the sidings!" Paxton added, getting increasingly confident. However, instead of responding, the Buffman Bomber took a moment of silence before laughing hysterically.

"You thought you got me, didn't you, Buffman?" He asked the air. The three diesels shared terrified glances, before Clive hesitantly spoke up.

"What are you t-t-talking about?" He asked, before the Bomber laughed again.

"He probably moved it so he could bait me out into the open! What an _idiot,_ thinking I'd lug the rail cannon over there when he's just probably _standing around_ since he has to be personally involved with _everything_ out of routine! In fact, I think I'll just forego the cannon and squash him with my BARE WHEELS!" He giggled in a disturbingly giddy manner. He immediately snapped back to seriousness after a few seconds.

"We're not taking the cannon tonight, but you are leading me to this 'Wharf'. Got it?" He snarled. However, the three diesels stood their ground.

"We are not going to help you hurt anyone else." Clive replied firmly. The Bomber smirked.

"Fine." He rammed into Sidney, knocking him off the rails but leaving him upright, before ramming into Dora to aim her right down at the three diesels.

"I'll just blow you sky high and go on my own." He said matter-of-factly. Dora had begun to sob again.

"Please, do vhat he says! I don't vant to hurt you! Please!" She had never cried this hard. Clive and Paxton shared a glance with the heavily breathing Sidney on the side of the line, but the Bomber banged into Dora again.

"I'm giving you ten…" Clive looked at Paxton.

"Nine…" The green diesel was beginning to tear up.

"Eight…" Clive looked to the derailed Sidney.

"Seven…" The smaller blue diesel was already in hysterical fearful tears.

"Six…" Clive looked up at Dora, who was still crying.

"Five…" Tears began to form in Clive's eyes.

"Four…" Was this how it ended?

"Three…" Maybe if it was just him…

"Two…" …but he wouldn't take his friends down with him.

"On-"

"Alright! We'll help! Just don't hurt them!" Clive shouted. The silence following his echo was deafening. The Buffman Bomber slowly reversed away from Dora with a wide smirk on his face.

"That's what I thought. Get him back on the rails and let's get going." The Bomber began rolling away as Clive and Paxton's crews began attaching chains to Sidney. He smirked to himself.

"Millard Buffman _must die_ tonight. I'll see to that."

* * *

Deltic rolled gently into the wharf's fueling station. He liked the quiet, and shut his eyes to allow himself to fully enjoy it. However, he was soon interrupted.

"I have a few questions I need you to answer, _Deltic._ " Deltic's eyes shot open in surprise at Thomas' voice, and sure enough the tank engine was in front of him with a stony glare. The diesel scowled.

"What are you doing here? This is a zone only for military personnel and Buffman Global executives, which, as far as I know, you are neither of." He snapped. Thomas remained steely.

"Why won't you look me in the eyes, Deltic?" He asked quietly. Deltic rolled his eyes.

"That is literally the _least_ important question you could be-"  
"Then why don't you answer it?"

"Because it's none of your business! You're out of line!" The larger diesel was slowly getting riled up. This was what Thomas did best.

"It's because I'm a steam engine, isn't it?"

"I don't have to answer any of this!"

"You know what's funny, _Deltic?_ " The tank engine was beginning to get more and more disgusted with every syllable.

"This is your FINAL warning!"

"The Buffman Bomber has a lot of knowledge of Buffman Global's inner workings…"

"Be quiet!"

"They had a _key to an area with limited access,_ which only a Buffman Global employee like yourself would have…"  
"Shut your _mouth_ , steamer!"

"They seem to have a pretty big _vendetta_ against the company…"

"Shut up!"

"You know what I think, Deltic?"

"Shut your mouth!"

"You're angry that your division is hiring us steam engines, so you decided to start blowing up Buffman ships to send a message, and getting a crack at Murdoch was just the icing on the cake!"

" _…_ what?" Deltic had reached pure tranquil fury.

"You stole that cannon so you wouldn't have to deal with steam engines ever again. You hate steam engines, and that's why _you're_ the Buffman Bomb-"

"FINE, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I CAN'T LOOK YOU IN THE EYES?" Deltic bellowed, catching Thomas off-guard. Before he could respond, Deltic kept going.

"YOU _REALLY_ WANT TO KNOW? _FINE!_ I CAN'T LOOK AT WITH STEAM ENGINES IN THE EYES BECAUSE I HIT A STEAM ENGINE THAT USED TO WORK FOR THE COMPANY ON MY _TRIAL RUN_!" He shrieked. Thomas stood in stunned silence.

"What?" He asked quietly.

"DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU? I HIT A STEAM ENGINE, DAMAGED HIM BEYOND REPAIR, AND HE GOT SCRAPPED! MY FIRST TIME OUT OF THE WORKSHOPS, MY FIRST TIME EVEN _SEEING_ A STEAM ENGINE, WAS SEEING WHAT THEY DRAGGED OUT OF A DITCH THAT NEXT MORNING! DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS? A TWISTED PILE OF SCRAP THAT WAS BARELY BREATHING THAT _I_ CREATED!" Deltic began to hyperventilate as Thomas watched in horror.

"I looked into his eyes, and…I'd never seen so much fear or pain. That steam engine's eyes have been haunting me for _twenty years._ I haven't had a good night's sleep since I was built, and every time I see a steam engine I see those _same_ eyes…that same potential for fear…and especially with you! The engine I hit was a six-wheeled tank engine, just like you, and I can't look at you without thinking of that poor engine just sitting waiting to die…because of something _I_ did." Tears were rolling down the big diesel's cheeks. Thomas' eyes were beginning to tear up as well, but they widened in realization first.

"Twenty years…you're the engine who hit...Deltic, I'm so sorry, I-"

"And because I think about that every waking hour of my life, you think I'm a _bombing psychopath?_ How _dare_ you! I've spent twenty years making my way up in this company because I care about it! It's the only thing that makes me happy, and just because I'm not instantly nice to you, you think I'm a bad guy out to destroy it, right?" Thomas was taken aback.

"Deltic, I-"

"Listen, you entitled little _brat_ , I don't owe you anything! You think you can just make accusations about me without knowing me? Get out of my way!" Deltic surged forwards, banging into Thomas' buffers. The tank engine was frantically stumbling for words.

"Deltic, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have accused you, I didn't know, I-"

"GET _OUT_ OF _MY WAY_!" The diesel bellowed, and Thomas moved onto a siding to allow the large diesel to pass. As Deltic disappeared, Thomas could only sit on his siding, alone, in disbelief and despair. Alone, just as Deltic was as he rolled away to return to the coach and wait for the plan to commence.

* * *

The first big twist! Deltic is the diesel who hit Junior all those years ago, and this is why he can't look steam engines in the eye! Making Deltic a red herring for the Buffman Bomber's identity was something I'm sure some of you may have picked up on, but that's not all that's happened! We have all four of our plots coming together at the Wharf, where the Bomber's next sinister plot to off Mr. Buffman himself is to be put into action, just as is the military's (and Sir Handel's) to capture said Bomber is. Thomas is at the Wharf, Salty is on his way, and Clive, Paxton, and Sidney remain in servitude to the Bomber. Next chapter's a big one, where the Buffman Bomber makes his move. What will happen? Find out in the twelfth chapter, "The World Will Burn"!


	12. The World Will Burn

Salty rolled gently into the Wharf, trying to be as quiet as possible. He suddenly coughed, and froze up as he heard the hum of an electric motor.

"Oh no!" Quickly, he looked around and saw a line of trucks sitting in the shed. He hid behind them as fast as he could, just as Beetle rounded the corner.

"Hello? Anyone here?" The little shunter called. Salty remained still, with bated breath. Beetle didn't hear anything, and as a result left.

"No civilians, Captain Bridges, the operation can go ahead!" He called. Salty breathed a sigh of relief, before scanning the Wharf for any sign of Thomas or Skyler. Suddenly, he noticed bubbling in the water on a pier just down his line. He inched closer to it, and sure enough Skyler slowly-rose out of the water, snorkel-first.

"Where is that little blue-"

"Hello?" Beetle's voice rang out again, and Salty frantically shushed the little submarine, who was surprised to see him. As soon as Beetle was clearly far away, Skyler grinned at Salty.

"So, you decided to have a burl at saving the day, eh?" She grinned. Salty was serious for a moment, before chuckling.

"Aye, I guess so." The two shared a quiet laugh before Salty spoke.

"So, what's the plan?" He asked, with a raised eyebrow. Skyler rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Plan? Beats me. I haven't an idea where Thomas is, and-BLIMEY, HIDE!" Salty looked back and saw an engine covered by a tarpaulin entering the Wharf, flanked by a terrified and exhausted Clive, Paxton, and Sidney. The dockside diesel frantically hid back in his previous spot near the trucks as he watched the quartet sneak into a smaller shed nearby. Intrigued, he raised an eyebrow.

"That's worth checking out." He muttered. He looked to Skyler's snorkel, sticking out of the water.

"I'm going in. You try to find Thomas." He whispered.

"Ace, mate!" The reply echoed through the snorkel. Salty slid away towards the shed as quietly as he could.

* * *

The Buffman Bomber and his posse slid into the dark shed. The sky was grey and dark, so very little daylight was seeping in through the shed's windows and they were hidden from sight. The three diesels looked around at the military diesels outside the shed.

"There's a l-l-lot of military folks ar-r-r-round. M-m-maybe we should l-l-leave?" Paxton stuttered quietly. The three diesels waited for a response, but didn't get one. The Bomber was in his own mind, grinning victoriously at what he saw just outside the shed.

"After all these years…" Clive looked around the Bomber and gasped when he saw what was in front of him. There was Millard Buffman, standing on the tracks, arguing with Captain Bridges. The Bomber began to back up slowly, as to get a running start at finally squashing the man he hated so.

" _Revenge!_ " The Buffman Bomber hissed, and began to surge forwards. Clive gasped.

"No!" Quickly, he rammed into the Bomber, and sent him flying over the points. The Bomber slammed into some narrow gauge trucks and growled.

" _Why you little-_ " The Bomber read the label on the sides of the trucks: "D. FUSIT GUNPOWDER". He smirked, before taking a deep breath and holding it in. Clive, Paxton, and Sidney watched him in confusion, but they were interrupted by noise outside.

"Wharf clear! The operation will now commence! Everyone to your stations!" Beetle called through a megaphone that a soldier was holding to his mouth.

"SIR, YES, SIR!" The military diesels replied, and began shuffling off to various areas of the Wharf. Captain Bridges watched the diesels starting to leave, and then turned back to Mr. Buffman and the Fat Controller.

"Mr. Buffman, Sir Topham, you should leave for your own safety." He said simply. The Fat Controller nodded, and tried to beckon Mr. Buffman into the recently returned (and visibly shaken) Deltic's coach, but the white-suited man was uncooperative.

"This is to do with _my_ company! I need to see this Bomber stopped with my own eyes!" He insisted. Beetle rolled alongside the argument.

"Everyone's in position, sir! Now all we have to do is wait for the Bomber to show up." Captain Bridges looked to the murky sky.

"Who knows how long that'll be…" He muttered.

* * *

Peter Sam knew very well how long that'd be.

" _Sir Handel! He's right there!_ " He hissed as quietly as he could, sweating bullets at the sight on the other side of the gunpowder trucks. However, Sir Handel did not give him the response he was hoping for.

" _Jackpot!_ " The little blue engine grinned like a cat that had eaten a bird. Peter Sam, however, was still terrified.

"What's he doing? He's just…sitting there." He whispered in terror. However, Sir Handel had already begun to sneak behind the shed.

"Like taking candy from a baby!" He giggled to himself as he imagined the vast riches soon to be his. Peter Sam groaned to himself, and continued to sit with bated breath near the Bomber. Finally, the hooded engine breathed out and started coughing, which, unbeknownst to Peter Sam, spread ash and sparks everywhere. Outside the shed, Colin, who had prior simply been staring off into space, began to smell something.

"That smells like…" His eyes widened in horror and he quickly turned to the shed. Frantically, he began making gestures with his crane arm, desperately turning back and forth to try and get his friends out of the shed. No matter what he did, he couldn't see if they could see him.

"Bogus, dude." He muttered, and continued to try and signal them. In the shed, Sir Handel had just begun to sneak up behind the Bomber, when a smell entered his nose as well. He raised an eyebrow.

"Is that-" He couldn't get anymore out before, to his surprise, the Buffman Bomber surged backwards.

" _Back up!_ " The villain hissed to his minions, but Sir Handel didn't care. Sir Handel was far clear by the time the Bomber and the diesels had made their way out of the shed, and they began to make a run for the entrance to the Wharf. The little engine growled.

"Not so fast!" He hissed, and began to give chase. On the other side, Colin had tried every arm signal in the book, but nothing was working. Finally, sweat beading down his face, he shouted…

"GET OUT OF THERE, DUDES!" Peter Sam shot out of the shed like a bullet, just in time.

* * *

BOOM!

"Emergency! Fire beginning to spread!" A military diesel shouted. The shed that the men had been standing near had gone up in flames, and while no one had been hurt, they had definitely felt that impact, and the people had all fallen over from it. Mr. Buffman sprang up, covered in ash.

"That means the Bomber's here! Lock down the Wharf! We have to-" Captain Bridges grabbed Mr. Buffman by the collar of his suit jacket, climbed the stairs, and hurled him into the coach, slamming the door.

"All non-military personnel on this train, immediately!" The Buffman Global board quickly shuffled into the coach. Captain Bridges turned to the Fat Controller quickly.

"Get them as far away from here as possible!" He barked, and quickly ran away to try and deal with the fire. The Fat Controller turned to Deltic.

"Take any line you can; they'll all get us out!" He shouted, and quickly climbed into the coach. Deltic hooted his horn before quickly backing away from the burning shed and heading down another line.

* * *

The Bomber and the trio of diesels were frantically reversing away from the burning shed. The Bomber was the slowest of the four, and as a result he lagged behind a bit. Clive noticed this as they approached the junction, where every line from throughout the Wharf conformed into one single one. He reached it first, and noticed a line of trucks on another line. Quickly, he allowed Paxton and Sidney to pass, before ramming into the trucks and pulling them back and forth as quickly as he could. With his brute strength, the trucks flew everywhere, and were soon covering every line but one on the junction. The Bomber came to a stop just in front of the makeshift barricade.

" _You insolent little worms!_ When I'm out of here, I'm blowing you lot _sky-high_!" He scanned the junction to find another route and saw one, coming from the far side of the Wharf. He grimaced under his hood before retreating back into the flames. Clive grimaced at the other two.

"That won't hold him for long. We have to go, now." He said. Paxton and Sidney shared a glance.

"Go where?" Sidney asked. Clive finally gave a determined scowl.

"To save Dora." The three diesels fled away from the flames back to the quarry.

* * *

"Come on! We have to hold the fire off until the Search and Rescue Center arrives!" Beetle was frantically mobilizing the military diesels, who were trying to get the military's firefighting trucks into position. Suddenly, he saw a hooded figure roll by on the standard gauge line. He scowled.

"Get back here!" Quickly, he switched lines, and began to give chase to the Buffman Bomber, not noticing Sir Handel not far behind.

Salty had witnessed the shed's explosion, and now was frantically searching through the flaming tracks.

"Thomas! _Thomas!_ " He called, trying to search through the smoke for the little blue engine. Suddenly, a hooded engine sped across the track in front of Salty, causing him to slam his brakes on. The diesel gasped once he realized what had happened.

"That's the Bomber!" He looked where the Bomber had gone, but he didn't see anything but smoke. He continued looking forwards and surged on, ignoring the Bomber.

" _Thomas_! Where are you, lad?" He called, trying his hardest to be loud over the sirens, but there was no sign of the tank engine anywhere. Finally, Salty rolled to a halt by the side of the pier when he heard coughing.

"Salty?" The diesel let out a sigh of relief, and sure enough, an ashy, soot-covered Thomas puffed slowly out of the smoke. His eyes were wide, and he was clearly shaken about something.

"Are you okay?" Salty asked. Thomas was at a loss for words, before speaking.

"Deltic's not the Buffman Bomber, he's…" He trailed off, realizing whom he was speaking to. Before Salty could prod further, Skyler popped out of the water, coughing furiously.

"I inhaled smoke into my bleedin' snorkel! What's happening?"

"A building blew up, and now the Bomber is running around the Wharf-"

"HE'S STILL HERE? Well, what are you yobbos waiting for? Go get him!" Thomas began reversing away, but Salty stopped him.

"No way, Skyler! It's not safe here; I think we should try to get somewhere safe, away from the fire!" Thomas frowned.

"We've got him cornered, Salty! We can finally stop him, once and for all!"

"But we're surrounded by _fire,_ Thomas!"

"Will you two dipsticks stop arguing and just get him already? I'm starting to cook over here!" Skyler shouted. Salty sighed.

"Fine. We'll split up, and cover more ground." Thomas whistled determinedly, and Salty honked his horn back. The two went to opposite sides of the Wharf, searching for the Buffman Bomber.

* * *

"Are you alright, little dude?" Colin called, trying to see Peter Sam through the flames. The little engine coughed in reply.

"Yes, thank you, Colin, but I'm derailed, and the shed is on fire!" Peter Sam's green paint was covered in soot from the explosion, and while he had not been damaged, its impact had knocked him off the rails and he now stood, two wheels in the ballast, underneath a smaller wooden shed that had, as Peter Sam had mentioned, caught on fire. As the smoke cleared in front of them, Colin tried to size up the situation.

"Yeah, that shed is _really_ on fire, dude!" He commented, looking at the flames licking up the shed's supports. Suddenly, a loud cracking noise began to sound out.

"It's going to fall!" Peter Sam cried. Colin stammered, trying to think of something to do. Quickly, he wound his cable up, before winding his arm back and shooting it like a lasso, before hooking onto the shed roof and tightening as fast as he could. Peter Sam let out a sigh of relief, but Colin began to grimace.

"This is _hot,_ man. I don't know how long I can keep this up- ouch!" The crane groaned. Peter Sam looked around frantically, as he felt the heat above him slowly getting closer despite Colin's best efforts.

"SIR HANDEL! _HELP_!" He cried into the flames, but his friend was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Sir Handel was in hot pursuit of his million pounds. The Buffman Bomber was rolling along the line as fast as he could to try and get to the one free line, but military diesels at every turn meant he had to constantly change paths. Sir Handel followed him through every change, taking advantage of the Wharf's dual gauge track. Suddenly, as the Bomber approached a crossing, Beetle suddenly rolled onto it.

"This is an order from the Ministry of Defence to _stop!_ " He barked. The Bomber simply sneered.

"Stay out of my way, bug!" Beetle yelled in anguish as he was rammed into and slid across the Wharf into some oil tankers, which spilled onto the ground upon Beetle colliding with them. Sure enough, the flames began to inch towards the puddle, which was right near Beetle. He saw Sir Handel steam by.

"Sir Handel! Help!" Sir Handel didn't hear him; he was too focused on getting his reward, and simply sped on after the Bomber. Beetle grimaced as the flames began to get closer and closer to the oil.

* * *

Deltic was trying to find a way out of the Wharf, frantically heading down whichever line looked the least on fire.

"Come on…come on…" Finally, he saw a line that led straight out of the wharf, and frantically headed towards it. However, he heard a familiar whistle and suddenly the points right in front of him changed.

"What?" Suddenly, Thomas sped right across his path, searching for the Bomber. Deltic slammed his brakes on, barely avoiding the tank engine as he sped past. He gritted his teeth furiously as the tank engine was out of sight.

"Why can't that little twit leave me al- oh, bugger." Try as Deltic might, he couldn't get his engine to start again. The flames began to inch closer and closer to him and his coach, and he frantically tried to start up again, to no avail.

* * *

Thomas hadn't even noticed that he had passed Deltic, and was frantically scanning the area for the Buffman Bomber. Suddenly, he heard a voice.

"Help! Help!" Thomas looked and saw the derailed Beetle, frantically trying to blow out the flames that had begun to get near the oil puddle he was stuck in. Thomas braked to a stop quickly.

"Hold on!" His crew jumped down, and quickly looped a chain around Beetle's coupling hook. Quickly, Thomas began reversing, pulling Beetle clear of the flames just in time before the entire puddle of oil went up in flames. As Thomas pulled him to a more saturated, non-flammable section of the Wharf, Beetle let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, I…what are you doing here?" He stammered, upon realizing who exactly had saved him. Thomas remained undeterred.

"Which way did he go?" He asked.

"Who?"

"The Bomber!"

"No way! This is official military business, you are _not_ getting involved in-"

"I already am! Just tell me so _somebody_ can catch him while we've got him trapped!" Beetle thought for a moment, and then sighed.

"He went around the other side of the Wharf. I think he's trying to make his way to the far line leading into the junction; the others are blocked by derailed trucks." Thomas grinned determinedly.

"Thank you, sir." Beetle smiled back at this, and Thomas charged back into the flames to try and find the Bomber.

* * *

Salty was on the other side of the Wharf, trying to see through the thick smoke, when suddenly…

"Somebody! Anybody! HELP, DUDE!" Salty suddenly saw Colin struggling to hold up the flaming shed, which threatened to fall on Peter Sam at any moment. The little green engine saw Salty and gasped.

"Throw me a line! I'm trapped!"

"Hold on!" Salty tried to get closer, but Colin gasped.

"Look out, dude!" One of the stationary cranes had caught fire, and would have toppled over onto Salty had he not reversed just in time.

"Whoa!" The crane crashed to the ground, creating a fiery barrier between Salty and the distressed Peter Sam. Salty grimaced.

"Hold on! I'm going to go around! Stay there!" The diesel reversed as quickly as he could. Colin grimaced as a flame began to creep up his cable. Frantically, he blew it out, before sighing in relief.

"That's all we _can_ do, dude!" He called back. Peter Sam looked up at the flaming shed in pure terror.

Salty raced around the line the crane was blocking as fast as he could. Suddenly, he heard puffing and Thomas rolled alongside.

"The Bomber went this way!" He called.

"We have bigger problems; one of the narrow gauge engines-"

"Which one?"

"The green one with the giesl ejector!"

"Peter Sam."

" _Peter Sam_ is stuck under a flaming shed, and the crane can't hold it up forever." Thomas' face grew determined.

"Right. If we can beat the Bomber there we can corner him there." The two raced on as fast as their wheels could carry them towards Peter Sam's plight.

* * *

Sir Handel was still on the Bomber's tail, and they had gone full circle around the Wharf.

"I'm back where I started!" The Bomber seethed as he charged through the flaming remains of the shed he had blown up. He heard a whistle, and suddenly saw Sir Handel came up behind him.

"You're mine! One million pounds richer, here I come!" The little engine called, with a wide grin across his face. The Bomber simply sped up, and soon enough they had come out the other side. Sir Handel grinned as he began to catch up, but he suddenly heard a voice that made him slam his brakes on in horror.

"Sir Handel! Help!" Sir Handel looked over to see Peter Sam, stuck underneath the flaming shed, with Colin desperately trying to hold it up.

"Peter Sam?" The prideful little engine asked in quiet horror. Peter Sam cried out again as an ember from the collapsing ceiling fell onto his running board.

"I'm trapped, Sir Handel!" Suddenly, the roof began to slowly descend towards Peter Sam.

"I can't hold it much longer, man! I'm bugging out!" Colin wailed. Sir Handel's eyes frantically darted between the fleeing Bomber and his own trapped friend, trying to decide which to pursue. One meant a million dollars, but the other…"

"Sir Handel! Help me!" Peter Sam cried. Colin gasped out in pain.

"I have to let go!" He called. Sir Handel grimaced and began to sweat furiously as his eyes darted back and forth. Finally, he made the decision and puffed forwards.

"I'm letting go! I'm sorry, green dude!" Colin wailed, and withdrew his hook. Suddenly, Sir Handel raced underneath the flaming shed, and pushed the derailed Peter Sam free in front of it, just in time. The flaming shed collapsed to the ground with a loud crash, just as Thomas and Salty arrived. They gasped out in horror.

"Peter Sam! Are you okay?" Salty called. To their relief, they heard a reply from the other side of the shed's remains.

"Yes, Sir Handel saved me!" Peter Sam called, with immense pride in his voice. Thomas grew serious again.

"Which way did the Bomber go?" Thomas heard a loud groan.

"Are you kidding me? As soon as _I_ give up the money, Thomas comes swooping in-"

"Sir Handel!"

"He went the other way, towards the far side of the junction." Thomas gasped.

"That's where Beetle said he was going! We have to stop him!" The tank engine sped forwards, but Salty gasped.

"Thomas, look out! There's a-" Thomas hit the crane with a dull "clang". The tank engine had come off the rails, but was clear of the flames.

"It's up to you, Salty! You have to catch him!" Salty hesitated, but hooted his horn and charged off in the direction Sir Handel had indicated.

* * *

The flames were especially thick in this part of the Wharf, and the Buffman Bomber was growling furiously as he sped backwards towards the only way out. His exhausted driver poked his head out of the tarpaulin-covered cab.

"It's too hot-"

"Keep shoveling or I'll throw you off a cliff!" The Bomber growled, and his driver quickly reentered the cab. Suddenly, he heard a horn and Salty rounded the bend. At first, he was caught off-guard, but sped on anyway.

"I come here to get revenge on someone, and I end up getting it on someone else…the _world_ will burn tonight…" He chuckled madly to himself, and began to speed up. Salty honked his horn again and sped up with him.

"You won't hurt my friends, or my home, anymore!" The diesel cried into the flames. Suddenly, an ember flew from a burning building nearby onto the Bomber's tarpaulin, causing it to catch on fire.

"AGH!" He screamed, and began to slow down as they approached a set of buffers, where his only route of escape would require hitting the buffers before taking the other line out of the wharf. As they drew closer to the end of the siding, the flames began to develop the entire tarpaulin, burning it away. Finally, the Bomber came to a stop as his tarpaulin burned off. Salty braked in front of him, having him pretty much cornered.

"Cornered you now, you…you..." Salty trailed off in horror as the last remains of the Bomber's burnt tarpaulin fell away, revealing the engine that laid underneath. His face was covered in dirt and scars, and his paintwork was covered in rust and scratches. He had been caked in mud and dirt from many years from a lack of use, and his frames seemed warped. He was an utter wreck, but there was no denying that the Buffman Bomber, the six-wheeled tank engine before him, was…

" _Junior?_ " Salty's jaw remained agape in pure shock as Junior's scarred visage stared him down. The Buffman Bomber stared into his former workmate's eyes for a moment, before ramming into him. Salty gasped out in surprise as he rolled backwards, out of the way of the junction, allowing Junior a route to pass him and speed out of the Wharf, unguarded. Salty finally managed to shake off his shock and tried to give chase down the line Junior had gone down.

" _Junior! Junior!_ " Salty tried to find him, but it did no good, especially when Flynn came racing down the line in front of him.

"Salty, I need the line! There's a fire at the Wharf!" He called, and Salty began to reverse.

"But…b-but…" Suddenly, thunder crashed, and heavy rain began to pour from the grey sky, leaving Salty to return to the Wharf to try and regroup with Thomas. He couldn't believe it, but…Junior was the Buffman Bomber.

* * *

The big reveal! Yes, some of you may have already figured it out, but Junior is the Buffman Bomber. How did he survive his accident with Deltic? That will be explained in due time, but I'm glad I managed to keep this twist, for the most part, a secret by describing the bomber in ambiguous ways. But yes, Junior is the Buffman Bomber and his scheme for revenge on the company that sent him for scrap isn't over yet! Tell me if you managed to predict the twist, or if it caught you completely by surprise! Something that _is_ over, however, is Sir Handel's subplot, other than a short resolution scene in the next chapter. Sir Handel ended up giving up the money to save Peter Sam, which was always the resolution I had in mind for this plot. Writing the trio involved in that plot was a lot of fun, and will continue to be into their appearances in Set 3. As for next chapter, what course of action will Junior, the Buffman Bomber, take? Which will Thomas and Salty take? Which will Clive, Paxton, and Sidney take in their attempt to save Dora? Find out in the thirteenth chapter, "Ashes to Ashes"!


	13. Ashes to Ashes

"Easy does it, Thomas!" The tank engine was slowly lifted into the air by Rocky and placed back onto the line. The Search and Rescue team and fire brigade had managed to completely extinguish the flames, and a cleanup operation was now underway beneath the rain.

"You're lucky that we got here when we did, Thomas; otherwise we may have ended up with grilled tank engine on our buffers!" Rocky chuckled as some workmen looked over Thomas. After one gave the sign that there was no damage, Thomas whistled.

"Thank you, Rocky." Quickly, Thomas left to see the rest of the damage and make sure everyone was okay. Meanwhile, on the other line, Butch had just finished pulling Peter Sam back onto the rails. The little engine gave a sigh of relief.

"Finally, safe rails under my wheels again." He grinned. As he looked up, he noticed Sir Handel seeming rather pensive and quiet. He gave a genuine smile towards his friend.

"Thank you for rescuing me, Sir Handel. I would have been trapped in that fire if it weren't for you."

"Yeah, you're a hero, man!" Colin chimed in, workmen inspecting his singed cables. Sir Handel blushed, for once, modestly. Peter Sam realized something and frowned.

"I guess I kind of messed up your plan to get the one million pounds and be the 'world's richest engine', huh?" To his surprise, Sir Handel scoffed.

"No matter what, Peter Sam, you are more important to me than any money in the world…not too sure what I would have done with it anyway." He grinned sheepishly. Peter Sam beamed with pride.

"Oh, Sir Handel!" He laughed. Colin began to cry tears of joy from the sidelines.

"This is such a beautiful moment, dudes." He sniffled to the workmen inspecting him for damage. One attempted to hand him a handkerchief, before realizing it was pointless and putting it away.

* * *

Thomas puffed through the burnt Wharf, where the military diesels, the Search and Rescue Team, and the fire brigade were attempting to clean up the damage the fire had caused. To his relief, he saw a blackened with ash, but otherwise unharmed Beetle sitting on a flatbed ordering the diesels around.

"Easy does it, lads! We've got a lot of work to do! We-Thomas!" Beetle grinned from his flatbed as the tank engine rolled alongside.

"Are you alright?" Thomas asked.

"Far better for you having saved me, Thomas. I owe you my life." The little military engine smiled, and Thomas turned red in embarrassment.

"Was the right thing to do." He replied simply. Suddenly a thought went through his head and his smile fell.

"You haven't seen Salty, have you?" He asked, concerned. Beetle groaned loudly.

"There's _another_ one here too? What's the point of a military lockdown if it doesn't actually lock anything down?" He lamented. Before Thomas could reply, he heard a horn from around the bend and went to follow it.

"Salty? Salty! Thank goodness you're alright, I-" Thomas very quickly realized he wasn't looking at Salty as he rounded the bend and slammed his brakes. Unfortunately, this caused him to come to a stop right in a puddle that was gathering on the rails, and splashed a filthy, soot-covered Deltic right in the face. The large diesel began to grit his teeth in anger. Thomas faltered.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"You just love making my life difficult, don't you?" Deltic spat nastily. Thomas braked to a halt.

"I said I was sorry, what more do you want-" "You cut me off when I was trying to get out of here, and my engine stalled! I would have _exploded_ if it weren't for the fire brigade! You know about my past, now _leave me alone_." The large diesel finished with a more cold tone than he had ever used before. Thomas was at a loss for words, so he simply reversed onto a siding to allow Deltic to pass when it was time to leave. Some workmen were working on repairing Deltic's engine for the journey home, and Mr. Buffman was standing nearby, berating an exhausted Captain Bridges.

"…a massive waste of _my_ time and _my_ resources! I don't see why you even had me come here in the first place-"

"I didn't. I, in fact, did the opposite of that." The military man rubbed his temples in frustration. Mr. Buffman simply continued.

"-if you were simply going to fail at everything! I'm going back to the Mainland-"

"Good."

"-until this has all blown over and I can run my business properly again!" With that, Mr. Buffman turned on his heels and stomped into the coach, the rest of the board following behind him. Unfortunately, the Fat Controller was dragged into the coach with them, and despite him trying to fight his way out, he ended up inside when the door slammed.

"Oh, bother." Deltic's engine was soon fixed, and he honked his horn before heading on his way out of the Wharf. He looked straight ahead, avoiding the guilty Thomas' gaze. As soon as he was out of sight, Thomas noticed a comforting sight at the end of another siding across the yard.

"Salty!" Thomas sped out of the siding and over to the dockside diesel, but was surprised to see him staring blankly into space with a horrified expression on his face.

"Salty?"

"The Buffman Bomber is Junior." Salty said quietly, his expression unchanging. Thomas' jaw dropped in horror.

"Junior? But, but…that's impossible-"

"I KNOW THAT! I…know that…" Before Salty could respond, he and Thomas heard a noise and Skyler rose out of the water.

"Are you guys alright?" She asked. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Where have you been?" He asked. The submarine rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't just going to sit there and cook, mate. I high-tailed it out of there when the fire started to spread! I take it our Bomber got away then?" She asked. Thomas looked to Salty, who remained grave.

"Yes." The diesel replied quietly. Skyler was caught off-guard by Salty's melancholy tone.

"Well, urm…sorry 'bout that then, mate." She replied quietly. The mood was somber until Skyler spoke up again.

"Saw that big blue diesel on his way out. Where was he off to?" She asked Thomas. Now it was the tank engine's turn to be quiet.

"Over the Vicarstown Bridge and back to the Mainland, where it's safe…" He replied. To Thomas and Salty's surprise, Skyler's eyes widened in horror.

"Skyler? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? There are cliff tracks right in view of the Vicarstown Bridge, _that's_ what's wrong! The Bomber is going to blow it sky-high, with the diesel and the Buffman bloke on it!" Thomas gasped in horror.

"Oh no! What are we going to do?"

"Stop the Bomber, that's what! Let's-" Skyler was interrupted by Salty.

"No. Thomas, you have to try and stop Deltic, that's more important. We can't let Junior put anymore people in danger." Salty spoke gravely. Thomas stammered in fear.

"B-b-but, Deltic won't listen to me! He hates me!"

"You're faster than me, Thomas. It has to be you." The diesel replied. Thomas thought for a moment and put on a brave face.

"Aye aye, cap'n." He grinned, and Salty smiled bravely back. Thomas blew his whistle and began reversing out of the Wharf. Salty looked to Skyler.

"You follow him for as long as you can. Try to help in any way possible." Salty began heading out of the Wharf himself. Skyler raised in eyebrow in confusion.

"Where are you going?" She called.

"To confront my past." Salty replied as he left the Wharf. Skyler watched him leave with immense respect, before sliding on her goggles and diving beneath the waves to follow Thomas.

* * *

Yeah, I really have no excuse for this chapter taking this long. But we're in the final stretch! As Thomas and Skyler chase down Deltic to try and keep him off the bridge, Salty is off to stop Junior from completing the final stage of his plan and killing Millard Buffman. Sir Handel has finally put his greed to rest as well, and I absolutely loved writing this subplot as it provided a bit of comedy in an otherwise heavy story. I'm going to keep it brief and try to get the next chapter out as fast as I can, so there isn't as much of a wait for the climax of the story! Where are Clive, Paxton, and Sidney? Will Thomas stop Deltic from being blown up? Will the Buffman Bomber achieve his goal of revenge? Find out in the climactic fourteenth (and second-to-last) chapter; "Salty & The Buffman Bomber"!


	14. Salty & The Buffman Bomber

Thunder crashed as Deltic sat in the Container Yard with his coach, waiting for Soggy to couple up a long line of container trucks to it. He remained stoic and brooding as Curtis loaded containers onto flatbeds one by one, but secretly was grumbling under his breath.

"Come on…the sooner I'm out of this cesspool the better…" The large diesel grunted. Inside the coach, Mr. Buffman was having a discussion with the rest of the board, with the Fat Controller desperately trying to find a time to cut into the conversation so he could leave the coach.

"Now, when we're back at corporate on the Mainland, I want to redirect some funds-" Mr. Buffman gestured at the whiteboard inside the coach, but the Fat Controller raised his hand. One of the other board members quickly shoved it down.

"Don't you know protocol? No questions until Mr. Buffman is done speaking; he doesn't like to be interrupted!" He hissed. The Fat Controller scowled.

"But I'm not supposed to-"

"Shh!" The Fat Controller groaned under his breath, and was promptly shushed again by the entire board. Mr. Buffman looked away from his presentation.

"Is something wrong, gentlemen?"

"No!"

"Nothing at all, Mr. Buffman!"

"Good." He returned to his presentation, leaving the rest of the board to scowl at a sheepish Fat Controller. Outside, Soggy shunted the trucks against Deltic's coach, and he was coupled up.

"Have a safe trip, Mr. Deltic!" Soggy called, but Deltic didn't respond before beginning to slowly move out of the yard. Suddenly, he heard a familiar whistle.

"You have got to be kidding me." Thomas sped into the yard at lightning speed.

"Deltic! You can't go to the Mainland! The bridge isn't safe!" Deltic glared, gritting his teeth in pure rage.

"Why can't you just _buzz off!?_ " He honked his horn, causing the yard's signalman to switch the points, directing Thomas across the turntable and towards the shed. The tank engine's brakes screeched as he slammed into the shed's buffers. Deltic began speeding up, desperately trying to leave the yard.

"Sogliole!" He barked. The shunting tractor jumped.

"Yes, Mr. Deltic?"

"Keep the tank engine from leaving the yard until I'm out of sight, or you're fired!" Soggy gaped in horror.

"B-but-"

"NOW!" Soggy yipped and sped towards Thomas, who was spinning around on the turntable to try to get back on the main line. The tank engine and shunting tractor collided as Thomas approached the points, and Thomas' wheels desperately spun as he tried to push against Soggy.

"DELTIC! _PLEASE!_ YOU'RE IN DANGER!" He cried desperately, but the big diesel simply ignored him as he pulled out of sight. Thomas looked down at Soggy, and tears began to appear in his eyes.

"Please, Soggy! _Move!_ " Soggy grimaced awkwardly.

"I'd love to, Thomas, but I'd also like to keep to my job!" He replied. Thunder crashed, and even the sound of Deltic had disappeared now. Thomas was now fully crying.

"Soggy, I need to make things right! Deltic's in danger from the Buffman Bomber!" Soggy raised an eyebrow, still resisting as much as he could.

"And how do you know that, then? We don't even know who he is-"

"IT'S _JUNIOR! JUNIOR IS THE BUFFMAN BOMBER!_ " Soggy's eyes widened.

"What?" He lost his grip because of the shock, and Thomas rammed Soggy off the rails and into the ballast. The tank engine looked apologetically at him.

"Sorry, Soggy, but I have to stop Deltic!" Thomas whistled, and frantically sped away from the Container Yard to try and make up the ground. Soggy spluttered as he disappeared.

"That can't be right…Junior's _dead!_ " He muttered his breath, but he heard a voice clearing his throat and looked up.

"I've told a lot of lies in my day, mate, and I can say that was definitely the truth." Curtis commented gravely. Soggy remained silent, stunned and wide-eyed, and he looked to where Thomas had been, tears streaming down his cheeks.

* * *

The rain was pouring harder now, and Clive, Paxton, and Sidney were pulling Gün Dora along the main line, their lamps all on trying to see through the storm.

"Vhere are ve going, Clive?" Dora asked, terrified. Paxton looked to the bigger diesel, who was staring determinedly into the rain, his lamp brightest of all.

"Clive, where _are_ we going?" Paxton hissed. Clive remained focused.

"Somewhere safe." He replied. Suddenly, he spotted a figure of a tank engine through the rain.

"Thomas?" Clive called, overjoyed, but his face fell as he got closer and realized that he didn't recognize the scarred tank engine staring at them with gritted teeth.

"STOP!" A familiar voice shrieked. Clive and Paxton slammed on their brakes as fast as they could, and Sidney felt the force ram against him.

"Ow!" Clive looked at the engine, horrified.

"You're, you're-"

"You know who I am. Now, _listen to me and listen good_. Salty saw me at the Wharf, and they're sure to be after me now. I'm not going down without Millard Buffman _dead_ , so you _will_ help me or I'll throw you into the ocean, _got it?_ " The Buffman Bomber was panicking, but remained threatening. The three diesels stood in stunned silence at the criminal's true appearance. He rolled his eyes.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR THEN, YOU IDIOTS?" Dora whimpered in fear, as the Buffman Bomber ran around the back of the train and slammed into the side that Sidney wasn't shunting himself.

"B-but-" Clive began, but the Bomber's whistle rang out and he began to push, leaving the three diesels to only helplessly obey as thunder crashed.

* * *

Deltic raced along the line towards the Vicarstown Bridge, pounding the rails with his train thundering along behind him.

"Come on, come on…" Suddenly, he heard a familiar whistle.

"What?" Sure enough, Thomas was speeding up towards the rear of the train.

"Deltic! Stop! You're in danger!" He cried, his wheels whirring against the rails. Deltic growled, and honked his horn before picking up speed. Thomas scowled.

"Shovel faster! We have to catch up!" He called to the fireman, and soon enough Thomas was speeding up, and he began to draw level with Deltic as the rain poured down.

* * *

The Buffman Bomber and his minions climbed the hilly cliff track furiously. The rain made the track difficult to grip, and the engines were having a tough time climbing.

"She's too heavy!" Paxton cried, as his wheels slipped helplessly on the wet rails. The Bomber growled as he pushed.

"Work harder!" He snarled. Finally, the four engines managed to approach the part of the cliff with a perfect view of the Vicarstown Bridge. Clive, Paxton, and Sidney were uncoupled from Dora as the Buffman Bomber rammed her into position, aiming right at the bridge.

"Finally…after _all_ these years…" He chuckled darkly to himself. Suddenly, he felt something ram into his buffers, knocking him towards another line that went higher up the cliff.

"What?" Clive stood on the line, blocking the Buffman Bomber from Dora defiantly.

"I'm done. You're not hurting anyone anymore." The tramway diesel stood his ground. The Buffman Bomber growled furiously.

"Get out of my way! I won't let you keep me from my revenge!"

"No! If you try to use Dora again, I'll…bash you! Like you do to us!" The Bomber shrieked in anger.

"MOVE!" He backed up for a running start before beginning to rush at Clive. Paxton and Sidney, watching from the sidelines, grimaced. Tears began streaming down Dora's cheeks, but Clive stood strong. However, a horn rang out that caused the Buffman Bomber to slam his brakes on, coming to a stop buffer-to-buffer with Clive. Paxton and Sidney gasped at the figure. The Bomber's eyes narrowed.

" _You._ " Thunder crashed as the figure's silhouette was illuminated through the heavy rain.

"Stand aside, Clive. This is _my_ fight." Salty rolled into the light, looking determinedly at his old friend. His eyes softened, however, upon seeing the emptiness in Junior's eyes.

"Do you recognize me?" He asked. Junior's blank expression contorted into a furious snarl.

"I would never forget the face of the engine who dug my grave." The old tank engine spat venomously. Salty winced, but took a deep breath and regained his composure.

"How did you survive the accident?" Junior chuckled darkly.

"That's a story, isn't it, Salty?" He took a deep breath before beginning.

"When I had my accident, Mr. Buffman promised me one thing.

'It'll be quick,' he said." Junior paused for a moment, regaining his composure, before continuing with clear rage boiling beneath the surface.

"It wasn't. Being cheap runs in the blood for the Buffman family, so I was put on 'lowest priority' at the scrapyard because it was less expensive for them to store me that way. Oh, they cut plenty of stuff _around_ me, sure, but they never quite got around to me! I sat in that scrapyard for _twenty years_ , with nothing but the _screams of projects they considered more important than me to KEEP ME COMPANY_! I was trapped in a _hell_ that that whole company put me in, a hell that _MILLARD BUFFMAN SR. TOSSED ME INTO!_ " Junior stopped his psychotic break to laugh for a moment.

"Then, it hit me. Buffman sent me off to die…so why couldn't I do the same? I began planning to kill him, and make him suffer just as much as I had. But how to do it? Well, you hear a lot from old military engines on scrap row, and one of them told me about this rail cannon; so I decided I was going to destroy his company, and then destroy him! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He frowned following his giddy laughter.

"But the old man got the last laugh on me. He died before I could kill him. Pity. His son runs the company now, but he looks enough like dear old Dad to make it _just as satisfying_. The scrapyard shut down eventually, and some enthusiasts found me and decided to fix me up. I bided my time until I could run again, and then I… _convinced_ them to be my crew." A wicked grin spread across Junior's scarred face.

"Now, I'm going to kill MILLARD BUFFMAN, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!" He began cackling hysterically. Clive, Paxton, and Sidney recoiled in horror, but Salty was most horrified of all.

"Junior…I-"

"Don't think I don't know what _your_ role in this is! You wanted to replace me, so you sent me out to get mowed down so you could take my place! Well, guess what, after Buffman, you're NEXT, SALTY!" Junior reversed towards Dora and grinned as his terrified crew began preparing the rail cannon to fire. However, as the tank engine began to laugh, Salty took a deep breath and rammed into Junior, knocking him away from the rail cannon and towards the higher cliff tracks. Junior gasped in shock before looking back at his old friend and grinning maniacally.

"Just like old times, eh, _mate_?" He smashed into Salty's buffers, knocking the wind out of the diesel, and looked towards his fireman, still preparing Gün Dora.

"Come on! The cannon can wait!" He snapped. The frightened man quickly ran aboard, and Junior reversed into the cliffs, leaving Salty to follow after him after regaining his breath, the two beginning their final battle.

* * *

The Fat Controller sat in Deltic's coach, still feeling rather awkward about not being where he was supposed to be, and listening to Mr. Buffman talk about the inner workings of the company was not helping this.

"…our stock will obviously rise, and-" Everyone present was shocked to hear a whistle, and the Fat Controller gasped as he looked out the window into the pouring rain.

"Thomas!" Sure enough, the tank engine slowly managed to pass the windows of the coach, his wheels pounding the rails and his face bright red with exhaustion. Mr. Buffman groaned as Thomas streaked past.

"What is that tank engine doing here?" He looked at the Fat Controller and jumped in surprise.

"What are _you_ doing here?" He asked, bewildered. The Fat Controller wasn't paying attention to Mr. Buffman, however; he was just trying to see what Thomas was up to. Outside the coach, Thomas was beginning to draw level with Deltic, and whistled again.

"Deltic! Stop!" Thomas panted. Deltic ignored him and simply tried to go faster, but Thomas was going too fast and the two remained neck and neck. Suddenly, Thomas heard a voice from the river nearby.

"Thomas!" Thomas looked to the river to see Skyler, desperately trying to keep up. The submarine panted as she spat out rainwater.

"There's a junction up ahead! You can get in front of him!" She called over the raging wind. Deltic heard this too and growled furiously.

"Oh no, you don't!" Deltic honked his horn and began to speed up, but Thomas sped up to compensate. Sure enough, they were soon side by side, but Thomas barely managed to get enough speed to slip in front of Deltic at the junction, and end up in front.

"Haha!" Thomas grinned triumphantly, but was caught off-guard by Deltic slamming into him from behind.

"Out of the way!" The big diesel barked. Thomas grimaced, before slamming his brakes on to try and resist Deltic. Sparks flew from Thomas' wheels, and Deltic's face turned red trying to sustain the speed he had had, but Deltic was too strong and Thomas slid along the rails, braking hard, being pushed by Deltic.

"Oo-err…" Thomas strained, but Deltic pushed harder and the train kept going. Deltic honked his horn as loudly as he could.

* * *

The horn echoed up to the cliffs, where Salty and Junior were bashing into each other as they raced around the maze-like cliffs. Junior heard the horn and gasped.

"That's the diesel! That means BUFFMAN'S COMING!" Junior raced across a set of points in front of Salty that led down to Gün Dora, who was beginning to sob in sheer terror.

"REVENGE!" He cackled.

"Junior, stop!" Salty had stopped right front of Dora's buffers, and was the one thing standing between him and his revenge. The Buffman Bomber snarled, his eyes bulging in raw fury.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" He bellowed. Salty winced, but spoke again, passionately.

"Junior, you don't have to do this! You gave me my name! I know that the real you is in there! This monster isn't you-WHOA!" Junior whistled before beginning to charge at Salty, who got out of the way just in time. He slammed into Dora's buffers, causing her precisely aimed cannon to shift trajectories slightly. However, he was too angry to notice.

"HE'S COMING NOW!" Junior shrieked. His crew climbed to the top of Gün Dora, and began preparing to fire her. The rail cannon sobbed.

" _Nein! Nein! Nein!_ " The Buffman Bomber's eyes widened with madness.

"Ready…"

"No!" Salty cried, and began trying to rush towards Junior.

"Aim…" His wheels spun furiously, but he just wasn't fast enough to stop Junior.

"….FIRE!"

* * *

Thomas and Deltic were approaching the bridge, and Thomas' wheels had significant flat spots. Suddenly, they heard a loud "BOOM", and Thomas gasped.

" _Gün Dora!_ Deltic, you need to apply your brakes now!" He cried, but Deltic simply remained conflicted and powered on. Thomas began to panic as the bridge drew closer.

" _Deltic! We're going to DIE if we don't STOP!_ " Thomas yelled in terror. Deltic looked at Thomas for a moment, before deciding to trust him and screwing his brakes on. As the train began to screech to a stop, Skyler popped out of the water nearby again.

"Finally, you're stoppi-OH, CRIKEY!" A loud splash sounded out as the bullet, knocked off-course by Junior, hit the water in front of her and launched the submarine into the air, towards the line. The Fat Controller looked out of the window of the still braking train and gasped at the sight.

"What's going on-WHOA!" He quickly shoved Mr. Buffman aside in order to pull the emergency cable. Thomas and Deltic managed to grind to a halt just in time, as a dented but otherwise unharmed Skyler slammed down onto the line in front of them. Everything was still for a moment, before the woozy Skyler looked up at the two engines staring at her. She grinned sheepishly.

"G'day, mates!" Everyone present took a collective sigh of relief. Deltic stood stunned.

"You…you…" He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Thank you." Thomas smiled, looking at Skyler, who grinned right back at him.

* * *

Junior stood, stunned, at the intact bridge below. Salty let out a sigh of relief, but suddenly heard the Buffman Bomber's growl.

"NO! NO! NO NO NO!" Junior screeched. He backed up before ramming into Dora in anger. Clive jumped forward, protectively.

"Leave her alone!" The Bomber wasn't paying any attention to Clive. He simply focused on Salty, frothing at the mouth in rage.

"You…you ruined EVERYTHING! I'LL…I'll…" Junior calmed himself down, before smirking maliciously.

"If I can't kill Buffman…I'LL KILL _YOU_ FIRST INSTEAD!" He began pushing against Salty's buffers, catching the dockside diesel off-guard as they rolled towards the cliffs. Salty's wheels spun as he tried to resist, tears appearing in his eyes.

"Junior, please! I know this isn't you!"

"IT'S THE ME _YOU_ CREATED!" Junior banged into Salty again, who began to flee through the cliff's winding tracks. Clive, Paxton, and Sidney gasped as the duo disappeared behind the rocks. Sidney grimaced.

"What are we going to do? Salty's in danger!" He whimpered. Paxton looked to Clive, who was deep in thought as thunder and lighting crashed around them. Suddenly, Clive looked at Dora, conflicted.

"It's our only shot…" He said, and rolled over to the rail cannon. She looked down at him, terrified.

"Clive, I vant to go home." She whispered. Clive grimaced, not wanting to go through with his plan. However, he spoke anyway.

"Dora, I…I think we need to fire you in order to stop the Bomber."

"Vhat!? I von't hurt anyvun else! You said you'd protect me! You said-"

"I KNOW WHAT I SAID!" Clive sniffled, sucking up his tears. He looked up at Dora, his eyes red.

"Dora, I need you to trust me. _Please._ " Dora grimaced for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

"Okay." Clive looked at whimpering Paxton and Sidney.

"We have to prepare her to fire at the cliffside." He called back. Paxton and Sidney shared a glance, before moving forward to put Clive's plan into effect.

* * *

Salty and Junior whipped around the cliff's winding maze-like tracks. Salty was moving faster than he ever had in his life, but he was running backwards and couldn't see where he was going. The pouring rain didn't help this, and the dockside diesel simply felt whipped around the rails.

"Junior! JUNIOR!" He called into the storm. Suddenly, he heard yelling over the thunder, and Junior charged at him from behind a rock.

"DON'T TAKE ME AWAY FROM THE SEA, _BOYS!_ " The unhinged Junior screamed over the storm, laughing madly as he rammed into Salty, pushing against him with more force than before. Salty pushed right back, his engine growling furiously as he did so.

"Junior, _please!_ I know it was my fault! You don't have to do this!" He begged, Junior simply looked up at Salty and began to push harder.

" _DO I!? YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!_ " He bellowed in Salty's face. They rounded a bend to find themselves back on the line facing the Vicarstown Bridge, Salty closer to the main part of the cliff. Finally, Salty managed to resist enough to bring the two engines to a stop. Junior growled furiously and backed up before ramming into Salty again. This time, the force was so much that Junior's coupling chain looped over Salty's hook, and the tank engine couldn't back up again. He growled furiously and tried to reverse but Salty held fast.

"Junior, please stop! I know this isn't the real you!" The dockside diesel shouted over the whirling wind. Junior simply growled and kept trying to break free from Salty's coupling hook.

"Let…me…go!" He spat.

"You know that this isn't the real you!"

"I'LL THROW YOU INTO THE OCEAN!"

" _SOGGY_ KNOWS THAT THIS ISN'T THE REAL YOU!" Salty screamed. Slowly, Junior's efforts began to slow down as his eyes widened. He finally came to a stop, and Salty saw in his eyes, for the first time in twenty years, his old friend. Junior looked up at him, and tears began to appear in his eyes.

"S-Soggy?"

"He hasn't forgotten, and n-neither have have I, Junior." Salty had begun to cry as well. Junior's eyes, once filled with anger and rage, now filled with fear and regret as he began to sob.

"What have I turned into, Salty?" Salty sniffled, trying to regain his composure.

"You're haunted by the past. I'd know, I've been too." Junior looked up at his old friend helplessly.

"I've hurt _so many people_. What can I do?" Salty smiled through his tears.

"W-well, we can return the cannon to the military, and then, maybe, you c-can have a place on Sodor. It's given me a new life, and new friends, and, well, a new m-me." The tank engine looked up at him, and smiled. Not an evil grin like before, but a genuine smile.

"Really?" He asked. Salty smiled right back, even wider.

"And maybe then, we can finally move on." Junior's face fell slowly, but before he could speak, Clive's voice rang out.

"LOOK OUT!" Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out, and a huge chunk of the cliffside began to give way. Salty could hear Gün Dora's panicked sobs, but he was more focused on the line in front of him. Salty had been just clear of the blast, but the track beneath Junior had given way in the explosion, and he was now hanging, helplessly, over the edge.

"JUNIOR!" Salty cried in horror. Clive, Paxton, and Sidney rushed over to try and help. Clive was sobbing profusely.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to!" He wailed, but Salty honked his horn.

"Stay back! The track might give way with too many engines!" The dockside diesel strained as hard as he could, but Junior didn't say a word.

"Hold on, Junior! You'll be safe soon!" Junior remained silent, before looking up at Salty, tears flowing down his cheeks. He gave a final sad smile.

"It's too late for me, old friend. You'll have to move on without me." Suddenly, the coupling chain snapped, and Junior fell from the cliff into the ocean.

"NO!" Salty cried in anguish, but it was too late. Quickly, Paxton coupled up to Salty and pulled him away from the cliff line, just in time to miss Junior hitting the water. He had fallen without a word. Salty could only watch where his old friend once stood in pure terror, before tears began to roll down his cheeks.

" _Junior…no….NO!_ " He screamed at the top of his lungs, as thunder crashed around him.

* * *

That's our climax! One more chapter to wrap things up, but this, like the "Cavalcade of Chaos" sequence in ROTRB, was the main scene I wanted to build up to the entire time I've been writing this special. The juxtaposition of the Thomas-Deltic and Salty-Junior plots coming together made this a fun, chaotic, but still incredibly sad climax. Junior is dead, making him the first engine character killed off on-screen, albeit we're spared seeing him actually die. He reached clarity in his final moments, but recognized that he was too far gone and yes, allowed himself to fall. One more chapter to tie everything up, and bring the chaos this special brought to a close. Read the final chapter, "Requiem", some time in the next week! This had been quite the ride, and I can't wait to see people's thoughts on the special as a whole, as well as what I'm doing for the future!


	15. Requiem

It took until the morning for Salty, Clive, Paxton, and Sidney to take Dora back to Crovan's Gate, where the Ministry of Defence had arranged to meet to hand Dora over. Deltic was sitting in the platform, with Thomas and Skyler on flatbeds behind him. Nearby, Sir Handel and Peter Sam sat in the platform, alongside Beetle sitting between them. The Fat Controller, Mr. Buffman, and Captain Bridges were all standing on the platform, and the Fat Controller let out a sigh of relief when the four diesels rolled into the station.

"Thank goodness you're all alright!" He mopped his brow as the diesels rolled into the station with the cannon behind them. However, the four diesels, especially Salty and a red-eyed Clive, remained somber, and the Fat Controller decided to give them some space for a moment. Instead, he walked over to where Deltic was with Thomas and Skyler, and Captain Bridges was talking to them. Mr. Buffman stood nearby, his arms crossed and pouting,

"…as a reward for your bravery and heroism, you shall each receive a reward: Thomas, your repairs will be paid for jointly by the Ministry of Defense…" He looked to Mr. Buffman, who's scowl remained on his face, before elbowing him.

"…and Buffman Global." The executive replied, through gritted teeth. Thomas beamed happily.

"Thank you, sir!" Captain Bridges then turned to Skyler, who was having one of the Ministry men help clean out her snorkel.

"Easy does it, mate! Any idea how hard it is to find a snorkel this size?" Captain Bridges cleared his throat, and Skyler looked at him sheepishly.

"Yes, sir?" She asked. Captain Bridges smiled.

"Skyler, you shall receive a permit to conduct your research in any harbour on Sodor you'd like…as long as its safe, of course." Skyler's eyes lit up and she grinned giddily.

"Bonzer! Thank you so much! I'm going to learn so much about Sodor's sea life, and-" As Skyler chattered to Captain Bridges, Thomas heard a low noise from in front of him.

"Psst!" The tank engine raised an eyebrow.

"Deltic?" The diesel sighed.

"I'm sorry for being so rude to you, Thomas. You saved my life, and that's more than I ever deserved for the way I treated you." He admitted quietly. Thomas smiled.

"I'm sorry for judging you without knowing about your past." He whispered back. Deltic, for the first time since Thomas had met him, smiled.

"I'd say the best practices for this is for us to start over. You're welcome at the Container Yard anytime…as long as you do your work, mind you!" Thomas chuckled, and Deltic smiled warmly back. The Fat Controller, who had overheard this interaction, smiled, but he suddenly heard a sniffling and turned around to see a sobbing Clive, being comforted by Salty, Paxton, Sidney, and, to his surprise, the rail cannon.

"You didn't know that vould happen, Clive." Dora consoled sympathetically, but Clive remained hysterical.

"But it did, Paxton!" He sniffled. The Fat Controller began to walk over, but was surprised by hearing Salty speak.

"Clive, it's not your fault, but I understand feeling like it is. Don't bottle it up, lad. Talk to friends, loved ones, professionals about it. I kept a mistake I made twenty years ago for a long time, Clive, and it only made me feel worse. Trust me, matey, your friends are here for you." Clive looked at Salty, his eyes still red with tears.

"O-okay, Salty." Salty smiled, but his face fell and he had to take a deep breath.

"Could you give me a moment?" The other three diesels shared a glance as Salty rolled away onto a siding. The Fat Controller discretely walked towards the dockside diesel, and looked up at him.

"Salty? What happened to the Bomber? Did he get away?" Salty looked down, before taking a deep breath.

"Junior…the Bomber…he didn't make it." The Fat Controller raised an eyebrow, and Salty looked down. The dockside diesel proceeded to tell the Fat Controller everything about his past with Junior, and how the tank engine had fallen to his demise on the cliffs.

"…the chain snapped, and…he fell." Salty finished. The Fat Controller remained stunned, silent for a moment, before patting Salty on the buffer in support.

"I'm so sorry…" He said quietly. The dockside diesel smiled.

"No need to be, sir." The two stood silently for a moment, before Salty spoke up.

"Sir, could I…go somewhere? Just for some space." The Fat Controller looked up and nodded.

"Go ahead." Salty rolled slowly away, leaving the Fat Controller behind.

* * *

Back at the station, Beetle looked at Clive being comforted by Dora and the other two diesels, before taking a deep breath and clearing his throat.

"Excuse me, civilian?" He asked, and Sir Handel moved out of the way to give Beetle a clear vantage point to see the diesels and rail cannon. Paxton raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" He asked. Clive simply looked down the ground in guilt and shame. Beetle sighed.

"I'm sorry to be the one to say this, but Gün Dora needs to be transported to our base from Brendam Docks and placed on lockdown as soon as possible." To Beetle's surprise, Clive rolled forwards.

"Dora didn't do anything wrong! It's me! I'm the one who should be locked up! Take me instead!" However, a voice cut him off.

"CLIVE! HE'S RIGHT!" To everyone's surprise, Dora's voice rang out above the crowd, and all eyes were on her. Clive was shocked.

"…Dora?" Dora looked down at Clive, tears in her eyes.

"Clive, listen. He's right; I'm too dangerous to be out free."

"B-but-"

"I'll be fine, Clive. It's for the good of everybody else." Clive looked up at Dora again and sniffled.

"…Okay." Clive backed away, and the military diesel shunters began to move towards Dora, before Clive came to a stop.

"Wait!" He called, and the military diesels stopped. Clive sighed.

"Could…could the three of us take her to the docks?" Beetle looked conflicted.

"Well, I, umm…we need four engines to move her, civilians." Suddenly, a whistle sounded out from nearby and a newly repaired Murdoch rolled in to Crovan's Gate, with a Buffman Global insignia now painted onto his tender.

"I was told I meh be needed?" He remarked. Clive smiled for the first time in a long time.

* * *

With Clive and Paxton in the front, Sidney and Murdoch pushing from the back, and military diesels surrounding them, Gün Dora made her way down towards the Docks. She was calm, but clearly somber, and Clive looked up at her as they pulled into the docks.

"Dora…maybe someday, in a little while…you could live in a museum? You would be protected there, but not stuck in a military base! It would be perfect!" He gushed, but Dora simply chuckled in reply.

"Maybe…someday…" She smiled. Clive and Paxton moved out of the way as they approached the ferry dock, and the military diesels began shunting Dora onto the boat. The four Sudrian engines remained silent, watching as Dora was tied down to the Ministry boat. Finally, as the ship began to prepare to cast off, Dora smiled at the three diesels, especially Clive.

"I'll never forget any of you." She called. A tear rolled down Clive's face as the boat sailed away, his friend upon it. He smiled bittersweetly as the boat grew smaller and smaller.

"I'll never forget you either."

* * *

Salty sat quietly on the cliffs he had spent the previous evening on. The rails that had been blown up the previous evening were gone, and all he could hear was the wind and the sound of the waves below. He stared, pensively, at the sea below, before finally speaking.

"You were always the most positive of us back in the day. Soggy and I were nervous, but you kept us confident and feeling good about ourselves. I owe you that part of myself." Salty stared out into the open air. There wasn't a response, but he felt like he was being listened to, so he took a deep breath and continued.

"…I'm sorry for my actions that night. I shouldn't have been lazy, and it's kept me up for so long wondering what it would have been like if I was out there instead of you. You paid the ultimate price for me…twice. I wish I could have repaid you. I hope that one day, you can forgive me." To Salty's surprise, a familiar voice rang out.

"I do forgive you." Salty looked to his side, and Soggy the Shunting Tractor rumbled alongside. The two old workmates sat in silence for a moment, listening to the waves below. Soggy broke the silence.

"So…he was alive all along, was he?" He asked quietly. Salty looked down, ashamed.

"Truthfully, I don't even think it was him. He had…transformed. He had let the past consume him. He was barely recognizable until…until I mentioned you, Soggy." Soggy's eyes widened in surprise, before he looked away.

"Ah, well, um…"

"He cared about you until the end." Salty heard Soggy sniffle, before taking a deep breath to regain his composure.

"He was my best friend. I think he always will be." He responded finally. The two engines sat in silence again.

"Salty?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think it's fitting that he ended up here? Since he loved it so much?"

"What?"

"The sea?"

"Oh." The waves crashed again, and the sound of a gull flying overhead rang out. Salty thought for a moment before speaking again.

"I suppose so." The two engines sat silently for another moment, looking at where their old friend had fallen. Soggy began to sing quietly, and Salty soon enough joined him.

" _Don't take me away from the sea, boys…_

 _Don't take me away from the sea._ " Finally, Soggy broke down crying, and rolled backwards from the cliff, and Salty rolled alongside him to comfort him.

"It's OK…it's OK…"

"No, it's not!"

"Then it will be." Soggy quieted down to see Salty's grave expression and sucked his tears up.

"Okay. Then it will be." The two engines simply sat on the cliff, listening to the sounds of the sea and remembering their friend, who was finally at peace.

 **THE END**

* * *

Not often that we get a bittersweet ending to a Thomas special, but here we are, the ending of this monster of a special! This took a very long time and a whole lot of effort to write, and I'd like to especially thank my friend and frequent collaborator Don (AKA DonaldDouglasandToby6) for helping me through this massive project. Sending Dora off to be locked down was hard, but she's going to be alright; she has the memory of her friends to help her. Now, as always, the end of special address:

\- **_The Great Race, The Rails to Redemption,_ and Season 21 Redux - **My next few projects are all going to be released somewhat quickly. Don and I's rewrite of _The Great Race_ should start heading up pretty shortly, and then after that _The Rails to Redemption_ and my rewrite of several Season 21 episodes, as well as the introduction of more, will be released alongside each other. These projects are significantly smaller scale, and should be to you at a much faster rate than this was.

\- **Set 3 -** Following all of the above is Set 3, which will feature characters from this special! Murdoch, Colin, Deltic, Skyler, Curtis, Soggy, and Mr. Buffman are all going to become parts of the supporting cast, and I hope you are excited for the developments concerning them. There were also be quite a few returnees and newbies, as well as an upped episode count of 28 episodes, which should be the standard from here on out: hope you are all excited to meet the Blisters, Cora, Regina, and Delia, as well as witness the returns of Kelly, Dennis, and Elizabeth.

\- **Songs -** A demo of "The World's Richest Engine" is currently on SoundCloud, and I am currently working on fully orchestrated versions of both that song and "Quarry Lullaby" with invisiblemario17 and AngryBirdFan98, so hopefully those will come soon. This is the last time my original songs won't be all released alongside the special, as next year's special will have all its songs released! I promise!

\- **Thank you -** Even though I've already thanked Don, I want to thank you guys, my readers, for motivating me to finish this massive project. This is the most ambitious thing I've ever written, but it's also one of the things I'm most proud of. If you have questions, or any feedback, positive or negative, leave a review and tell me what you thought!

Until next time (in _The Great Race_ ),

Chase (The Ferroequinologist)


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